ST. JOSEPH COUNTY -- The holidays are a time when many are asked to give money to charities. But how do you know someones not taking advantage of you? The Better Business Bureau is warning everyone to be on alert this holiday season.

Experts say the scammers are out there, just waiting to take advantage of someone else's giving spirit.

Dreama Jensen is with the Better Business Bureau of northern Indiana. She said there are many good charitable organizations.

But you should be watching out for the charities that aren't real or honest.

One scam that's sweeping the country, according to Jensen, has even happened in the Ft. Wayne area. It involves a man sitting in a truck or van. He waits for a potential victim to come out of a mall or busy shopping area, then says he's an employee with the Genesis Media Lab and has a $4,895 speaker system for sale.

From there, the man tells victims they only have to pay $800. But by the time they pay that money, it's too late.

Jensen said those types of scammers are referred to as sidewalk hawkers.

Another popular scam involves a person coming to your front door with a COD package for your neighbor, convincing you to pay the fee and sign. Sometimes they're driving an SUV with a fake company sign on it.

Jensen said other common scams include people calling on the phone with a charity name that sounds like it could be legitimate, but isn't. Some of those organizations aren't even charities -- they're for-profit companies.

To see if a charity or company is legitimate, visit the Better Business Bureau Website. Or call the St. Joseph County branch at (574) 675-9315.

On the web, you can find reports on existing charities and their history. However, if you log on to the Better Business Bureau website and you can't find the name of a charity there, it doesn't mean it's not a good charity. Experts say you should check out a charity before you pay up.

If you think you may have fallen for a scam, you should should call police to file a report. If you pay for a scam with a credit card, it can be a double whammy.

Police say that's because you're not only having that money taken from you. It's also very likely scammers are taking your credit card information and other personal information, which can lead to identity theft.