Safe Holiday Giving

I know we’ve talked about this one before but it deserves a second mention especially at this time of year; when everyone is looking for a donation of some kind and most of us are in the right frame of mind for giving. I’m not saying don’t be generous, I’m just saying be careful in your giving. Don’t become a victim of a scam or fraud.  Never give a caller or doorbell ringer money, whether it’s cash, checks, wiring money or debit card numbers. And even more importantly do not give out personal account information or social security numbers over the phone or the internet. Prevalent this time of year are non-solicited calls from charity groups, and granted not all of them are out to scam you. But the legitimate charities shouldn’t have any problem with you requesting they send you donation requests via good old fashioned snail mail. If they do, then just say no thank you and hang up. One senior victim of fraud stated, “You trust people, and I guess that’s what you should not do.” Even though I understand her reaction, I would have to disagree. You can still trust the majority of the people; you just have to be very sure of whom you put your trust in.