Janie VandenBosch's blood boils when she receives telephone solicitations from a group that calls itself the Minnesota Disabled Veterans.

The caller has offered to send her plastic bags, lightbulbs and other items in exchange for a donation. Problem is, VandenBosch works for Minnesota Disabled American Veterans (DAV) -- and her group has nothing to do with the calls.

"Sometimes I think I should just let them send me the bags so I can see who they are," said VandenBosch, who coordinates clothing donations to the state DAV. "But I'm also hearing about them from people who donate clothes to us. They say, 'You called us 10 times this week. What's happening?' "

What's happening is that the Twin Cities is in the midst of a fundraising scam working its way around the nation. Nobody knows who is behind the phone calls, where they are being made and what the money is used for.

In Minnesota, a live caller or a prerecorded announcement claims to represent "Minnesota Disabled Veterans," confusing itself with the 89-year-old Disabled Veterans of America.

But not a penny of the money goes to the roughly 40,000 disabled veterans in Minnesota or the 2.5 million nationally, said Tim O'Connor, executive director of the DAV Department of Minnesota.

Likewise, Minnesota chapters of the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Veterans of Foreign Wars report no affiliation with the callers.

"It's disgraceful," said O'Connor. "You have disabled veterans, some amputees, from World War II up to Afghanistan and Iraq being taken advantage of. Our members have Purple Hearts, they've been prisoners of war.

"This farce of an organization has been in and out of different states," he added. "We're trying to spread the word about them."

Minnesota Disabled Veterans is not a registered charity in Minnesota, the attorney general's office said. The office, which investigates charity fraud, said it could not reveal whether it is investigating the operation.

Moving from state to state

A variation of this fundraising tactic has been a thorn in the side of the national Disabled American Veterans for more than a decade, said Edward Hartman, deputy inspector general for the organization.

The names of the bogus charities vary slightly, but they always contain the words "disabled veterans," Hartman said. They blitz a state, often with high-pressure fundraising pitches or annoyingly frequent phone calls. When authorities start investigating, they pack up and move to another state, he said.

For example, after the national Disabled American Veterans filed suit against such fundraisers in Texas about a decade ago, the calls stopped, Hartman said.

"We chased them to two or three other states," Hartman recalled. "But then it became too expensive to file lawsuits in each place. And we didn't know if we'd win because our trademark name is a fairly weak trademark."

To complicate matters, if the charity is not registered with a state and does not provide an accurate address or phone number to callers, it's very difficult to investigate them, said Rich Cowles, executive director of the Minnesota Charities Review Council.

"To turn these callers in, people need to collect some evidence for followup," said Cowles. "If you have caller ID, check the phone number it came from. Or if they provide you a P.O. box, write it down. Any identifying information would be very helpful."

Copycat 'gives us a bad name'

VandenBosch said she has received up to 10 phone calls in a week from the sham organization. She typically hangs up on them, but they keep calling back. She hasn't received any calls in the past few months, but people who donate clothing to the DAV are reporting calls.

People are confused because the caller isn't directly asking for cash, but is offering to send bags and other goods assuming the money will follow, she said. With elderly people in particular, it does follow.

"It's very confusing, especially for the elderly," said VandenBosch.

She worries about the effect on her organization.

"The next time we call, they may decide not to support us," she said. "It gives us a bad name."

The Minnesota Paralyzed Veterans of America received a call last week about the fake fundraiser, said Rick Jost, executive director. Like the DAV, his group has been the victim of copycats using its name, he said.

"It's the general public that's more confused," said Jost. "Most of our members know better."

VandenBosch said she has told supporters to double-check with her office before giving any money. But she is not optimistic the calls will end soon.

Jean Hopfensperger • 612-673-4511