CAMDEN – A recent telemarketing scam that claims to represent the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine has prompted the organization to speak out Tuesday.

Although the organization relies heavily on donations, it does not make telephone solicitations, said Amy Theiss, communications director for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine. Theiss said people should know that if they receive any calls from someone claiming to be from Make-A-Wish, a nonprofit group that grants wishes to terminally ill children, their money would not be going to Make-A-Wish.

“It’s an unfortunate thing that occurs from time to time,” Theiss said Tuesday about the phony calls.

Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine has had problems in the past with these types of scams – once in 1998 and again in 2002, both times under different pretenses. This time, the callers claim to be representing local police or fire departments who supposedly are in competition to raise money for Make-A-Wish.

Theiss said Make-A-Wish started receiving calls last month from people who suspected the solicitations were not authentic. Within the past week, the organization has received at least five complaints about the fraudulent calls, which have occurred all over Maine, including the Portland and Bangor areas and the mid-coast region.

“One woman who lives outside of Bangor was told that her local fire and police departments were raising money for Make-A-Wish Foundation, but in her town there are no local police or fire departments,” Theiss said.

Similar suspicions have prompted others to question the calls. The foundation has contacted the Attorney General’s Office, and an investigation into the calls is under way. Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine also has contacted offices in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to inform them of the situation.

To report a fraudulent solicitation to the foundation, call 1-800-491-3171.