Holiday cheer brings generous giving and greedy deceptions to southwestern CT

As the holiday season is traditionally a time for giving, Connecticut's attorney general offered tips to decipher a scam from a cause.Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) says, sadly, holiday time

News 12 Staff

Nov 17, 2006, 12:04 AM

Updated 6,614 days ago

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As the holiday season is traditionally a time for giving, Connecticut's attorney general offered tips to decipher a scam from a cause.Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) says, sadly, holiday time is a busy time for scam artists. He says the best bet is to donate directly to a charity you know is legitimate. He says some of the most troubling scams are the look alike or sound alike charities. Blumenthal says the MS Foundation sounds like the MS Society but in fact, they are completely different.He also says it is important for people to find out how the money they donate will be used and what percentage goes to administrative expenses. He says the Salvation Army is a good example of how the money is distributed. For every dollar donated, 90 cents goes to the cause and the remaining 10 cents covers administrative costs.Blumenthal advises donators to ask for information on the charity in writing. He says most importantly, do not give out any personal or bank account information.