Iowa’s Attorney General is issuing his annual warning about fradulent charities which try to profit from the goodwill of the holiday season. Attorney General Tom Miller says elderly Iowans need to be especially careful about telephone solicitations.Federal officials estimate one-percent of all charitable giving goes to bogus organizations. Miller says the best way to check out an organization is to ask plenty of questions, like is the telemarketer getting paid to ask for your money.Sometimes shysters use names which are NEARLY identical to legitimate charities. Mike Reed of the Iowa chapter of the “Make a Wish” foundation gets complaints about telephone solicitations from his group — which does NOT ask for money over the phone.The Attorney General has a pamphlet available with tips for avoiding charity fraud. Americans donated 175-Billion dollars to charity last year — and about one-Billion went to fake charities.
