I'm calling on behalf of ....

So a few years ago -- before I became wise to their ways -- I ordered one of those barbecue sauce kits being sold by a group calling itself the Maryland Police Association or something similar. It was like $60 and was crappy but I felt like I had helped the police help others and eventually solved all the world's problems. Then I started getting calls every few months from these 'police charity groups' -- with the caller trying to put on their best police-sounding voice each time.

The bullshit coming through the phone started to stink so bad ....

Well the bullshit coming through the phone line started to stink so bad that I started asking how much of the money goes to whatever police charity they claimed to represent. They are legally required to tell you. Anyway, in most cases, the amount of any donation going to the actual charity -- if there really was one -- was under 15 percent with most of the money going to the professional fund raiser/scam artist/company running the campaign. I haven't given to or bought anything from a phone solicitation since. If you still do, ask next time how much of the money you are donating or spending on something actually goes to the charity. It could be a real eye-opener. If you want to donate to a specific group, I suggest you go straight to them with your money.