At least two Lebanon citizens have received calls soliciting charitable donations from a number that, when called, is out of service.

Sarah Anderson, 29, said she received a call on Sept. 29 from a woman claiming to be collecting money for St. Jude Children's Hospital. The caller asked Anderson for her address so she could be sent an envelope to mail the donation in. Anderson refused to provide the information.

"She didn't sound very professional. It sounded kind of scammy," Anderson said.

Using Caller ID, Anderson immediately called the number back after hanging up and received a, "This number is not in service" message.

She received a call from the same number on Oct. 7 from a male asking for donations for fallen police officers and veterans' families. Her mother-in-law also received a similar call the same evening.

A representative from the Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Protection division agreed the calls were probably fraudulent when Anderson reported them.

"We encourage everyone to request a solicitation in writing so they can research the charity," said Jacob Weigler, ODJ spokesperson. "Addition-ally they can place themselves on the Do Not Call List so they shouldn't receive solicitations from charities they haven't already donated to."

The ODJ maintains a database of legitimate charities at twww.doj.state.or.us/cgi-bin/charigroup_db_query.pl.

Linda Ziggs, a spokesperson for St. Jude Children's Hospital in Portland, said St. Jude only solicits contributions by phone from previous donors in its database.

A Google search of the number, 503-684-3300, turned up numerous hits on consumer protection websites from people complaining of experiences similar to Anderson's.