Scam charities: How to tell whether you’re donating to a good cause
Smart ways to easily check out a charity, especially after natural disasters
In an open society and a democracy like the United States, it is critically important that citizens and organizations working to address problems and/or get government or businesses to address issues can contact and communicate with the public.
Unfortunately, some bad actors will pretend to be promoting an important cause such as help for victims of natural disasters, while really just trying to line their pockets. You don’t want to shut yourself off from the rest of the world, so how can you be a responsible supporter of important work and causes?
Here are some tips to avoid problems:
- Make donations by credit card or check. Those contributions are traceable and safer. Scammers often prefer payments that are untraceable or nearly impossible to dispute, such as cryptocurrency, gift cards and person-to-person payments. If you’re asked to contribute in one of those ways, that should be a red flag.
- If you’re considering making a donation online, that is best done on the organization’s website, as opposed to an online fundraising platform, a crowdfunding site or social media. A legitimate social media post should take you to a donation page on the real organization’s website. (You can see in your web browser address bar whether the web page is part of the organization’s website).
- If you’re not familiar with the organization, check it out. Do an online search. Look at the organization’s website. And watch out for sound-alike names.
- Don’t be fooled by the Caller ID on your phone. Calls from a legitimate organization can appear as ‘unknown caller’ and calls from scammers can be spoofed to show the name of a real organization they’re impersonating.
If you suspect a scam, report it to ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Also, find your state’s charity regulator at nasconet.org and report it to that office as well.
Detecting a scam: How to avoid fraudulent phone numbers, emails and more
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Authors
Teresa Murray
Consumer Watchdog, U.S. PIRG Education Fund
Teresa directs the Consumer Watchdog office, which looks out for consumers’ health, safety and financial security. Previously, she worked as a journalist covering consumer issues and personal finance for two decades for Ohio’s largest daily newspaper. She received dozens of state and national journalism awards, including Best Columnist in Ohio, a National Headliner Award for coverage of the 2008-09 financial crisis, and a journalism public service award for exposing improper billing practices by Verizon that affected 15 million customers nationwide. Teresa and her husband live in Greater Cleveland and have two sons. She enjoys biking, house projects and music, and serves on her church missions team and stewardship board.
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