Ever get telephone calls from police officers or firefighters asking for donations to their relief or charitable activities?
Guess what? Odds are overwhelming that those callers aren’t uniformed emergency workers.
They’re paid solicitors, hired by employee organizations to raise funds for worthy causes.
Unfortunately, only about 20 cents of each dollar you donate actually goes to the worthy cause. The other 80 cents line pockets of the fundraisers.
The scammers are enjoying an especially lucrative season as gullible Americans fall all over themselves to support local colleagues of the Sept. 11 heroes in New York City.
When one of the solicitors calls, just ask: “Are you a police officer (or firefighter)?” And “How much of my donation goes to the fundraiser?”
Then hang up. (2 DECEMBER 2001)
