Look, times are tough, babies are dying all over the place, and those of us able to help really want to help. But before making your next roadside, dead-baby donation, we ask that you please be as discriminating as possible. Scrutinize those certificates, people!

From KTLA News:

Police have arrested 4 people in connection with a panhandling scam to solicit money to pay for an infant's funeral.

They say one of the suspects, 21-year old Heather Nichols, was holding a sign with an infant's photo on a street corner.

Yes, it's the old "paste a photo of a baby to a poster board above birth- and death-dates within the same year, write 'Funeral Donations' on it with a Sharpie, and stand by a road until the money pours in" scheme. The operation, which spread from Southern California to Arizona and lasted close to a year, was pulling in between $700 and $1,400 per day.

Also arrested: Catherine Mendez, 22, of Beaumont, CA; Chasity Doll, 20, of Cherry Valley, CA; and Jamari Carter, 26, of Highland, CA. Ms. Doll was arrested last June for the same scam. And no, that's not a typo. She spells her first name like that. [KTLA, screengrab via KTLA]