512-717-9556

Nomo Zapped.  Sunday call.  Fraternal order of police that spends all its money of phone numbers:
also 512-717-9567

Calling on Sunday evening. Don't these people ever give up?

Also calls from 512-717-9566; 512-717-6644; 512-717-9432; 512-717-9430;

Have friends and relatives in 512 Area Code so am hesitant -- so far, at least -- to block all calls from the 512 AC. But may have to, if the calls from laundry list of numbers keeps piling up.

I don't answer any calls from 512 area code, especially when it says Out of Area.  That is what happened tonight when I received this call.  I did get caught the other day when I didn't look at caller ID.  It was from Texas Police Association asking for donations.  I am a law enforcement supporter but never contribute over the phone.  The money doesn't get contributed to what they say it will.

After the state sued a law enforcement group and organizations related to it, reporter Tony Plohetski spent a month looking into the number of groups in Texas soliciting donations through telemarketing, reviewing their tax documents and interviewing officials for those organizations. He also talked to charity watchdog groups.

Tips for giving

Charity Navigator (charitynavigator.org), a charity-rating organization, gives several tips for making donations. Among them:

1. Confirm the organization is a charity.

2. Don't give over the phone. Instead, give directly to an organization that appeals to you.

3. Be careful of organizations that have similar names. Even though they may sound the same, they might have different missions.

4. Review salaries of their executives.

5. Talk to charities about their long term goals.

6. If the solicitor claims to represent law enforcement, check to see whether it is registered with the Texas attorney general to conduct telemarketing.