Prevent ID Theft Charity Fraud

With the recent hurricane disasters and the impending
holiday season, there are many organizations seeking
donations. While most of these charities are legitimate,
there are identity thieves who will attempt to solicit
funds or your personal information.

So our quick tip for today is:

Be familiar with the charity you are making a donation to.
Ask for the charity's tax-exempt letter indicating it's IRS
status. If the IRS does not recognize the charity, it's a safe
bet that charity is bogus.

Never give cash. Make your contribution using a check payable to
the full name of the charity.

Give out your credit card number only if you are certain you're
dealing with a legitimate charity. If you're providing your credit
card number online - do not send it via email - look for the browser
address line for the secure mode "HTTPS: " indicator.

Never give your Social Security Number (SSN) to a charity
for any reason. A legitimate charity does not need that
information in order for you to claim a tax deduction.

Stay tuned for more free tips and resources from Id Theft Secrets
as we're working to offer an exciting new feature by next weekend.
For your convenience now, you may select an automatic alert and
browser reading option by using our RSS feed.

Stay safe and have an enjoyable identity theft free Thanksgiving.