Stop Donating to Scammers
How to Spot Fraud This Holiday Season
really are speaking to a representative from a legitimate charity, they will direct you to a secure avenue where you can give without worry.
During the season of giving, charities receive a much-needed rush of donations as people open their
FEELING PRESSURED? WALK AWAY. A lot of charities set goals they want to reach before the new year, but even groups that are hoping to raise a certain amount of money know better than to pressure donors into giving. Donations should always come from the heart, and it’s a bad sign if someone insists there’s a deadline for giving. As the Better Business Bureau says, “Responsible organizations will welcome your gift tomorrow as much as they do today.” ONLY GIVE TO REPUTABLE CHARITIES. Do some research before donating to charities. Look up any prospective charity on Charity Navigator at CharityNavigator.org. This service flags “high concern” organizations suspected of fraud and ranks how reliable established charities are. Even legitimate organizations can be misleading about how they spend their donations. A good rule of thumb is to avoid organizations that spend more than 25 percent of donations on salaries or administrative costs. There are many amazing charities and organizations that do good work. Stay vigilant to make sure you are bringing joy to the world and not falling for a criminal looking to make a quick buck.
hearts to others. Unfortunately, criminals are all too willing to abuse this goodwill. According to a report from the Justice Department, Americans over the age of 60 lose over $3 billion a year to scams and fraudsters. As charity scams reach their peak, here’s what you need to do to ensure your donations aren’t lining the pockets of criminals.
NEVER GIVE BY PHONE OR EMAIL.
Charities regularly reach out to past and potential donors through traditional mail, email, phone calls, or text messages. This means fraudsters will mimic their approach with less noble intentions. Because it’s impossible to
determine who is on the other end of a call or email, you should never hand over your credit card information to strangers. If you
5 Tips to Keep Headaches From Ruling Your Life If you’ve ever experienced a bad headache or migraine, you know how frustrating it can be, especially when it prevents you from spending time with friends or doing activities you love. While there’s not always a surefire way to make them disappear completely, making some modifications to your lifestyle can reduce the frequency and severity of your headaches. TAKE NOTE OF TRIGGERS You may have noticed certain behaviors set off your headaches. Are they things you can remove from your lifestyle? Chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, and aged cheeses are all food triggers for some people. For others, stress and inconsistent sleep schedules can be related to headaches. If you haven’t started tracking your headache schedule, it can be a helpful tool to find out if there’s anything that’s a trigger for you.
FIND YOUR INNER CALM Being told to relax might sound like the most impossible advice to anyone who suffers from migraines, but stress is often a headache trigger. So if you can find ways to decompress before those frustrations boil over into forming a headache, it might help reduce the severity and frequency of your pain. Taking five minutes a day to sit quietly can be beneficial, and you might find it helpful to use a meditation app like Headspace. Yoga can also help the body and mind relax and reduce some of the tension you might be carrying without even knowing it. FIND AN EXERCISE YOU LOVE Exercise is something that could also reduce the severity and frequency of headaches. The feel-good endorphins you get from physical activity can help ease head pain, and getting into better shape could target some of the causes behind your headaches.
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