How to Avoid Getting Scammed When Donating to a Charity
Gabi Moore | Feb 23, 2010 | Comments 0
When a disaster strikes, anywhere in the world, people tend to open their wallets en masse and donate to charity as their way of helping with the cause. Unfortunately, there are people in the world looking to take advantage of the misfortunes of others, who create false charities to trick people into donating money that never goes to a cause.
When you’re looking to donate to a charity, there are a few ways to lessen your chances of getting scammed. The following tips come from CNN, the FBI, the Better Business Bureau and ScamBusters.org. You can find a list of highly rated and trusted charities at CNN’s Impact Your World.
- Be cautious when donating to any organization. Make sure you get the name, address and phone number of the charity, and find out whether or not it’s registered. The Brittany Murphy Foundation, which was created after Murphy’s death to fund arts education for students, shut down recently after TMZ discovered it wasn’t registered. They returned all the funds that had been donated until they get registered.
- Look out for people who contact you through email or social networking sites encouraging you to give money. Don’t click on links or attachments in those emails that may contain viruses. If you think an email might be legitimate, look up the charity and donate directly, rather than through an email. Scammers don’t just create charities, they can claim to be from a major charity as well.
- Ask what percentage of the funds you are donating will be going to actual relief efforts. You can sometimes dictate how your donation will be used. Make sure you get a receipt with the name of the charity on it.
- Don’t donate in cash. Make out a check with the name of the charity on it, and don’t give your credit card number to people who call or email without checking out the charity first.
- Don’t be afraid of asking too many questions. Legitimate charities will want you to know all the information about their charity and your donation before you give money. Be skeptical if a charity keeps requesting more money than you want to donate. Legitimate charities will be grateful, not greedy. Do your research and ask lots of questions, and generally, donate directly to the charity, not through a person who approaches you asking for donations.
It’s a great thing when we all open our wallets and give – just make sure that what you’re giving is going to a good cause and not into a scammer’s back pocket.
Filed Under: Awareness
About the Author: Gabi Moore is a Michigan State University journalism student. She's still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up, but she harbors a passion for telling moving and meaningful stories, and appreciates the power of storytelling to influence the world. An animal lover since she can remember, she volunteers at her local animal shelter and is involved with Michigan's Children, pushing for legislative support and funding for children's programs across the state.
