David Beckham

An imposter pretending to be soccer superstar David Beckham made a dozen crank calls to county offices to chat about charity work and drop names of celebrity² friends, officials said.

County Public Information Officer Judy Hammond said the bogus Beckham also suggested bringing underprivileged kids to a practice session of the Los Angeles Galaxy³, Beckham's new team.

Clerk Maria Saenz and student worker Susana Guillen, avid¹ fans of the real Beckham, "were just jumping up and down" after the first call.

Officials realized the calls were a hoax⁴ after Department of Children and Family Services staffers grilled⁵ the caller.

"It just smacked⁶ of bogusity," department spokeswoman Louise Grasmehr said.

Representatives of Beckham confirmed he had not made the calls.

The matter was being investigated to "see if it rises to the level of some kind of offense," sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

County Chief Executive William T. Fujioka said officials were never really duped.

"We're not country bumpkins," he said.