If you receive a phone call asking for donations to the Bainbridge High School cheerleaders, think twice before submitting money.

A local business was contacted by a company called Academic Promotions and was asked to donate to the cheerleading team. According to BHS basketball cheer sponsor Tiffany Rambo, the squad is not affiliated with Academic Promotions.

“We, the cheerleaders, parents and coaches, hand deliver letters asking for support and share information via Facebook,” Rambo said in an email.

If people would like to donate to the BHS basketball cheer team, contact Rambo at trambo@dcboe.com or Porche Chavers at pchaverse@dcboe.com. If you would like to donate to other teams, a safe measure would be to contact BHS directly.

Bainbridge Public Safety investigator Mark Esquivel warned that scammers will oftentimes talk quickly and use high-pressure tactics to get money from victims. If it’s an automated phone call trying to sell something, you should hang up, he added.

“If it’s too good to be true, it is,” Esquivel said.

Before donating, take caution and do some research on the entity you’re sending money to. At best, you avoid a scam, but if the company is legitimate, you have the satisfaction of knowing the truth about where your money is going.

Ultimately, don’t be in a rush to give your money away, Esquivel said.