Couple of weeks back, I received a call wherein the caller pleaded to donate for a charitable cause. He described a very touchy story of a poor fellow who needs immediate medical care. There were discrepancies in his tale, so I told him to call later. I just wanted to verify whether he’s telling the same story. One or two days later, a woman called from the same number, and this time told a completely different story. When I confronted, the lady immediately disconnected the phone never to call again. Thus, a group of people are playing with public's sentiments to scam people. Have you ever got such scam donation calls?
If there is a way for a telemarketing scheme to make money, then I expect a phone call. My wife and I always receive a call or two every month asking for money to either help with some project or to buy a new product but to no avail because " we just ain't buyin' ." Lately, my wife will sometimes answer and put them to task and then hang up but generally speaking, neither of us will answer the phone if the number isn't readily recognizable. Telemarketers touting a charitable event of giving are generally paid employees so whether the charity is good or bad I stay away from it because I want the higher percentage of my money to actually go toward helping whatever or whomever. To do that, I advise people to physically go directly to whatever office is responsible for the handling of the donations and examine all of the details before deciding on how much, if any, of a monetary donation to make.
Who has never received such a call, right? But over time I've learned (after I read a lot about it) to identify these types of fake phone calls and know how to get rid of them. They are so damn annoying!
It’s not just the scam calls for donation but what we have here are teenagers knocking on the door in the guise of a fund campaign for charity, intentions like – fire victims, flood victims, those affected by relocation, etc. If you are not discerning then you would surely give because those scammers are so good in their gimmick of preying on your pity and generosity. There was a time that a young guy knocked on the gate, asking for donation to church. When I asked the church, he mentioned the church in a nearby town. He didn’t know that the church here is just in the other block. Surely he was surprised.
The calls I get is IRS scam, scaring you almost out of your wits, then you realize you did pay your taxes or got it done by H&R Block or the like so it couldn't be true, so it's a scam. I kept the call for a year, wondering if after I reported it that the FBI or the like would call me asking me for the call, but no one called me about it. I just quietly let it be recorded and don't pick up the telephone receiver and report it as a possible scam!
Not a call for donation or charitable cause but we get visitors, teenagers claiming to be associated with charitable organisers and ask for donation in person. Initially they quote very large amounts but later they ask even for few rupees. I usually ask for their websites and say that I shall make the payment online and that's when they say we don't have an online donation facility.
@Log In, @Log Iny ... this kind of donation seekers are pretty rampant in our locality as well. When they come in person, we can cross check many things which becomes little difficult to do through mobile. I have encountered frauds in couple of occasions, and now stopped giving donations to unknown entities. Who knows... some of them are might be genuine.
I have met a lot of people on the street that have a file full of pictures of a sick child, and they start to say that they are from a charity foundation and need money for that child. Usually, I donate but in one day I have decided to check that foundation on the Internet and surprise it didn't exist, I asked them a phone number and they hesitated to give me an address or a phone number. Then I knew that was a scam charitable cause!
I have not yet received requests for fake donations though the vice of setting up fake Facebook accounts and passing them off as those of prominent individuals. Many have fallen for the scam but I am very circumspect to fall into such gimmicks.
