Have you ever been asking by a co-worker, family member or a friend to donate to a charity that they may be supporting? I know I have done this on numerous occasions because every year I do one to two MS bike rides where the money that I raise goes to help assist in finding a cure for MS so I hit a lot of different people up for donations.
With the internet not many people collect donations the old fashion way which is in the form of cash but instead people send a link where you can enter your personal information including your credit card number. Thankfully LifeLock is on the scene to help you protect your identify because who wants to be ripped off while trying to help out a charity.
LifeLock offers up many great tips for making donations online but for me the biggest tip is making sure that you search for the “S” when making purchases or donations online, be sure that the Web site is secure and that you see an https:// in the URL. Another great tip is to make sure you know who you are donating to. If you are like me you want to help everyone’s charity even the neighbor’s wife’s brother but it is extremely important to know who you are helping out so that you don’t get scammed and find yourself in huge trouble. I am not suggesting that you stop helping people and charity I am just saying do it safely and if you need a helping hand be sure to turn to LifeLock.
Also, this is a great month to talk about safely donating online because October is National CyberSecurity Awareness Month and National Crime Prevention Month so like I mentioned please be safe while online.
Feel free to share any tips or information you may have on this subject especially if you have ever been a victim of a charity scam?
You may remember that last month I mentioned the LifeLock for Life Sweepstakes on Facebook where all you need to do is “LIKE” LifeLock on Facebook then visit the LifeLock for Life tab and begin playing by answering different questions for great prizes. This month the questions will be focusing on online donating so make sure you play every week for a chance to win some really cool prizes. Also, the sweepstakes runs through 2013 so you will have multiple chances to win.
I have received compensation for my participation as a LifeLock Ambassador but ALL opinions are my own.
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Great tips. I always look for the https:// in the browser!
I am going to go see if I can win something. I am always having to order something on-line to help my son’s autism recovery. So being protected on line is a big deal to me.
The only thing I would add to this great list of tips is to make sure the elderly in your life follow these rules. My husband works with senior citizens and it is scary how often one of them is taken advantage of online.
That is a good point that I never thought of Rachel. My grandparents refuse to learn how to use a computer and get online and I am glad that is the case because I wouldn’t want them to be scammed.
Great reminders. It’s such a shame but so necessary nowadays to have to be uber-vigilant.
I never actually thought about charity sites and your ID getting stolen. It is a terrible think that charities are being hit like this! Thank you for the warning in this! I will be MUCH more careful from now on!
Thanks for the reminder. It’s so tempting to just want to help out that it takes a concerted effort to stop and really investigate who and what you are donating to.