Important alert concerning charitable donations
In light of recent natural disasters, relief efforts often spring up overnight, making it difficult for the person who genuinely wants to contribute to recognize the difference between real charity efforts and fraudulent ones. Fraudsters are increasingly adept at making a scam charity seem legitimate; therefore, even in times of tragedy, individuals must use caution, rather than emotion, when providing assistance.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Center for Disaster Fraud have issued the following guidelines to help donators avoid becoming victims of a charity scam:
- Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) incoming emails, including clicking links contained within those messages.
- Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via email or social networking sites.
- Beware of organizations with copycat names similar to but not exactly the same as those of reputable charities.
- Rather than following a purported link to a website, verify the legitimacy of non-profit organizations by utilizing various internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its non-profit status.
- Be cautious of emails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
- To ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes, make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf.
- Do not be pressured into making contributions, as reputable charities do not use such tactics.
- Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions. Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.
- Avoid cash donations if possible. Pay by debit or credit card, or write a check directly to the charity. Do not make checks payable to individuals.
