LDS Ward's 'Scam' confused police
Kent Larsen 16Dec99 D1

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Police in Salt Lake City issued a warning Wednesday that someone was passing-out flyers requesting charitable donations to the Washington Elementary School. Initally the school claimed it wasn't involved in any campaign, leading Police to believe that someonw was trying to run a scam. However, Police later discovered that the "scam" was run by an LDS Ward.

The Ward had passed out flyers in its neighborhood asking for donations of "new or used socks, mittens or cash," in support of homeless students of the school. The flyers said that volunteers would circulate through the neighborhood to collect donations on Tuesday evening.

In spite of the mix up, Police emphasized that this kind of scam does happen, and say the public should be "alert to this possibility." A scam that seemed similar to this drive occurred last year in Orem, Utah, in which those trying to scam the public claimed to be with an LDS Ward.