The images of the devastating floods that recently occurred in Ellicott City, Maryland are still vivid in the minds of everyone.  This kind of natural disaster brings out the best in us as many people are quick to donate to charities to help the survivors of the storms and the families of the victims.  This kind of natural disaster also brings out the worst in scammers  who are quick to take advantage of the generosity of people by contacting them posing as charities, but instead of collecting funds to help the victims of the storms, these scam artists steal the money for themselves under false pretenses.   Charities are not subject to the federal Do Not Call List so even if you are enrolled in the Do Not Call List, legitimate charities are able to contact you.  The problem is that whenever you are contacted on the phone, you can never be sure as to who is really calling you so you may be contacted either by a phony charity or a scammer posing as a legitimate charity.  Similarly, when you are solicited for a charitable contribution by email or text message you cannot be sure as to whether the person contacting you is legitimate or not.
TIPS
Never provide credit card information over the phone to anyone whom you have not called or in response to an email or text message.  Before you give to any charity, you may wish to check out the charity with http://www.charitynavigator.org where you can learn whether or not the charity itself is a scam.  You can also see how much of the money that the charity collects actually goes toward its charitable purposes and how much it uses for fund raising and administrative costs. Even if you are called by someone soliciting for a legitimate charity, you are better off donating directly to the charity through its website or by sending a check in the mail because not only can you be confident that the money you are sending goes directly to the charity, but in addition, no commission is paid to the telemarketer soliciting on behalf of the charity which reduces the amount of your contribution that actually goes to the charity.
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