Phony political fundraising is big business for scammers, and these calls are targeting people in Louisiana.

Politics is big business in the state of Louisiana, and according to Chris Babin with the Better Business Bureau of Acadiana, it’s making scammers rich through these phone campaign phone calls.

In Louisiana, we are very passionate about how we feel when it comes to political candidates. We are very outspoken and we don’t hesitate to make our feelings known.

What’s the Nature of the Current Scam?

A robocall is what starts off the process. You get the robocall saying your candidate “needs” money, and they make everything sound like an emergency. The call tries to make you believe that your favorite candidate’s opponent is raising way more money than your candidate. Don’t fall for it.

If you say you will give them a donation, you then will be switched over to a real person who wants your credit card information. And, there you go. They will steal your money by making charges.

And, they can take all of your personal information and steal your identity. No matter how much you like a candidate and hope they win, you don’t want to lose everything you have worked so hard for.

3 Easy Steps to Help Prevent Scammers From Getting Your Money

Babin says there are several ways that you can prevent yourself from being scammed. He says they recommend the following:

Screen Your Calls – If you get a call and you don’t recognize it, you don’t have to pick it up. You can also check the number with whitepages.com to see if it’s a real organization.

Don’t Respond to Unsolicited Robocalls – Scammers can fake the Caller ID. Businesses are only allowed to call you using robocalls with your written permission.

Register with the Do Not Call Registry – While this is not going to stop scammers from calling you, it will prevent other marketing-type calls. You can register at Donotcall.gov or by calling 888-382-1222.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has released its 2024-25 hunting regulations pamphlet online at the LDWF website.

For the complete regulations, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/seasons-and-regulations.

The pamphlet contains hunting rules, regulations and season dates for the 2024-25 season, including hunting information on LDWF’s Wildlife Management Areas and Louisiana’s federal lands. Printed copies of the pamphlets will be available in August at LDWF offices throughout the state and at vendors where hunting and fishing licenses are sold.  This season’s regulation pamphlet also has season schedules for the state’s 10 deer hunting areas and major changes for the 2024-25 season including:

• New federal duck stamp rules.
• Clarification on use of dogs for trailing and retrieval of deer
• Change in what turkeys are legal for harvest and associated bag limits

The following has been provided by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission:

Fireworks shows are a hallmark of Independence Day. But flashing police lights are the only show for impaired drivers as the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission begins its statewide Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.

According to AAA, a record 60.6 million people will travel by car this 4th of July. Law enforcement officers across Louisiana will be looking specifically for impaired drivers this holiday weekend, and those who fail a sobriety test will be arrested, LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman said.

“This is a Louisiana campaign to keep Louisiana citizens safe from the scourge of impaired driving,” Freeman said. “People should be able to celebrate without worrying about getting hit by a drunk driver.”

LHSC has made funds available to Louisiana law enforcement agencies to schedule extra troopers, officers, and deputies to patrol the roads and interstates through Sunday, July 7. These law enforcement officers have been trained to spot behaviors that indicate a driver is impaired.

“If a driver has a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, that driver is legally impaired and subject to arrest,” Freeman said. “Actual impairment can begin with just one alcoholic beverage. Bottom line: If you’re drinking, you shouldn’t be driving.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, just a small amount of alcohol can cause a decline in visual functions, an inability to perform two simultaneous tasks, reduced coordination, an inability to steer, and a reduced response to emergency driving situations.

Motor vehicle crashes involving drivers who have been drinking kill and injure hundreds of people every year in Louisiana. The statistics are generally worse during holiday periods. From 2018-2022, 12 people were killed and 254 people were injured in alcohol-related crashes during the Independence Day holiday period, according to the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU.

“We’ve made so much progress in making roads safer and making vehicles safer, but we continue to see these tragedies,” Freeman said. “Unfortunately, you can never make a road or a car safe enough for an impaired driver. Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over is an important tool for us to protect all road users.”

Besides refusing to drive impaired, avoiding distractions behind the wheel such as a cell phone, driving the speed limit, and wearing a seatbelt greatly reduce the risk of being injured or killed in a motor vehicle crash.

Copyright 2024 Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. All rights reserved.