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Police warn 'U' about callers

Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth expressed concern this week with organizations calling residences and claiming to raise money for the sheriff's department.

Meanwhile, on campus, an early morning whispering caller is posing as women's friends or boyfriends, making obscene comments and attempting phone sex.

In a statement Wednesday, Wriggelsworth said a recent flood of misleading calls are telemarketers claiming to support law enforcement, promising better community protection or "fixing" minor violations.

Similarly, the East Lansing Police Department never does fund-raising by phone, East Lansing police Capt. Juli Liebler said.

"We help out the police athletic league, but just through regular fund raisers," she said "If anybody says they're from the East Lansing Police Department, we recommend you just hang up."

The early morning caller on campus has elicited ongoing complaints, although none recently.

The caller has been reported as a male who whispers to dorm residents. He calls one room after another down the wing of a dorm, witnesses said.

They said he generally begins by asking if he's woken a woman up, and hangs up if he reaches a man.

Police reports said he doesn't identify himself, and he's generally mistaken for a friend or boyfriend because of his unrecognizable whisper.

He continues with sexual comments until the resident hangs up.

MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said students should hang up immediately if they don't recognize the caller.

To report a solicited phone call, contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at (877) 765-8388.

To report a threatening or strange phone call, contact MSU police at (517) 355-2222 or East Lansing police at (517) 351-4220.

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