​Charitable Solicitations

Many people in our country, especially seniors, care deeply about others, and they want to do something good for those who are less fortunate. Unbelievably, criminals will use these altruistic feelings to feather their own nests. These con criminals will make you think you are giving to a good cause but the result is that the money goes to them. Do you often donate money or items to a good cause? You may think you are donating to a good cause, but often the calls are from crooks. Scam artists also advertise fake charities using similar names to those of well know legitimate charities. Good examples are using the name of American Cancer Society to cause confusion with the legitimate National Cancer Society to obtain your donations or the National Heart Institute to cause confusion with the American Heart Institute. In many cases, these scam artists claim to be collecting on behalf of the police or the highway patrol officers. It's important to give money to charitable causes, but take all necessary steps to make sure the charity is legitimate. Get a phone number or better you look it up in the directory. Call the number at different hours to see who answers.

Better yet, look up the charity in Charity Navigator which provides information about the charity, including whether your donation is tax deductable.