It is a sad statement on life today that Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell is warning people about scams related to charities springing up in regard to the recent shootings at the Grand Theatre in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Scammers constantly turn up with phony charities whenever there is such a tragic event such as the recent shootings.  Phony charities were ready to steal the money of charitably inclined people following Hurricane Katrina and the shootings at the Sandy Hook elementary school and they are ready to steal money from people who want to help the victims of the Grand Theatre shootings and their families.

TIPS

To make sure that your charitable donations are going to where they can do the most good, make sure that any charity you wish to donate to is legitimate.  You can do this by going to http://www.charitynavigator.org and learn not just if the charity is a scam, but also how much of the donations to the particular charity is spent on salaries and administrative expenses rather than going to the charitable purposes of the charity.  If you are contacted by phone, email or text message from a charity, you can never be sure that the person contacting you is legitimate even if he or she uses the name of a legitimate charity.  In that case, if you are charitably inclined, your best course of action is to contact the charity directly by phone or at an email address that you know is accurate to make your donation.