Although National Think Pink day, the national day of breast cancer awareness, will not be coming up until next week, it is not too early to warn people about the scams that will be tied to this day.  Breast cancer is a terrible scourge and many legitimate charities and foundations are soliciting contributions to assist in the fight against breast cancer.  Unfortunately, many of the contacts that you may receive through phone calls, snail mail and email may be from scammers who have no intention of using your contribution for anything other than lining their own pockets.

TIPS

Charitable phone solicitation are allowed by law even if you are on the Do-Not-Call List, but if you do receive a charitable solicitation by phone you have no way of knowing from whom it is coming and whether indeed they are legitimate or fake.  In fact, many legitimate charities hire telemarketers who are paid a portion of what they collect as a commission so if you really want more of your contribution to go to a legitimate organization, send it directly to the organization through its website or through snail mail.  You also may wish to confirm that the charity is a legitimate charity by going to www.charitynavigator.org which is  a free website that will not only tell you if the charity soliciting from you is legitimate, but also how much of its funds go toward its charitable goals and how much goes for fundraising and salaries.  Some “legitimate” charities spend an inordinate amount of money on the salaries of its officers.