Did you know that Americans gave more than $ $449 billion to charitable organizations in 2019? There’s no denying that we love the idea of providing for the less fortunate via charities and nonprofits. However, this all-around generous spirit and goodwill makes it easy for many fraudulent organizations to cheat people out of their money.

Phony nonprofit organizations and fraudulent charity collections can solicit money from you under the guise of a charitable cause. With that said, there are some signs of fake charity collections that you can learn to detect a fraudulent charity from a mile away and ensure that you don’t fall victim to their tactics.

Let’s explore some tell-tale signs of fraudulent charities so that you can protect your money from them and donate it to legitimate organizations!

4 Signs of Fake Charity Collections

Here are some clear signs of fake charities:

1. Lack of Information on the Organization

According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are more than 1.54 million nonprofits licensed in the US. Given the sheer number of charities, it can be a bit challenging to spot a fake charity from a real one. However, one way to make certain that the charity approaching you is real is to look them up online.

Figure out if the organization has a legitimate web presence. Even fake charities create a website to scam people into giving them money. Some tell-tale signs of fake charity collections include misspellings in their website’s URL and content, phony-looking emails, and minimal or no social media presence.

Such a fake organization can also use a slightly altered title resembling a real charity to fool unsuspecting people into believing they are a legitimate organization. Many shams cleverly keep all the details the same except for changing the address to which you send your donations.

2. Guilt-Tripping and Pressure Tactic

You don’t expect a selfless nonprofit organization to strong-arm you into giving donations to them. However, a fake charity will do exactly that! They will rush you to make a decision without giving you the time to think or check their legitimacy. They might also resort to guilt-tripping and pressurizing you into making a generous donation. A fake charity will cajole, shame, and even force you into giving money to them. They will clearly imply that you are selfish for failing to donate.

3. Ambiguity and Evasion

A charitable agency is always as transparent and forthcoming about its cause, mission statement, and origins as possible. After all, their honesty, integrity, and passion are what drive people to donate to their cause. However, a fraudulent charity will not be forthcoming about its cause or mission statement.

If you believe that you’re contacted by a fraudulent charity, ask them comprehensive and specific questions, such as:

• Are you licensed or registered?
• Will my donation be tax-deductible?
• Do you receive federal funding?
• Can I obtain more information about you?
• Who is your CEO?
• What is your nonprofit’s target demographic and annual operating budget?
• What are your goals and implementation strategies?

If they are unclear about their answers or make excuses, you should not trust them with your hard-earned money. A legitimate charity will know the answers to these questions and will be more than willing to divulge the information for a charitable donation from your end.

4. Odd Donation Arrangements

Real charities provide you with various easy ways to donate money to them, such as credit card, PayPal, automatic transfer, check, money order, etc. However, if you are approached by a charity that insists on receiving cash donations, think twice before making that donation. Cash solicitation is one of the ultimate signs of fake charity collections.

Be even more vary if the organization presses you for divulging your financial or personal information, such as your bank account or routing numbers, Social Security Number, or other details that can compromise your identity.

Use the aforementioned signs of a fake charity to protect yourself from fraudulent organizations. If you have information about a fraud charity duping people out of their money, get in touch with FraudTrac.  Together we can protect ourselves from these shams!

Did you know that US citizens lost around 19.7 billion US dollars to scam calls in 2020? Given this whopping amount, it’s no surprise that many Americans have become increasingly cynical of spam emails or phone calls and messages from shoddy organizations.

However, scam artists are also becoming more and more inventive by coming up with various types of scams that are effective at fooling people into coughing up their money. It’s why you must learn about such creative scams so that you can avoid getting duped by scammers in the future.

Let’s take a look at some common types of scams that you need to be vary of!

Common Types of Scams

1. Lottery or Competition Scams

Have you ever received an email or text message from an overseas lottery company that claims that you have won an unrealistic amount of money in a competition you didn’t even enter? Such messages and emails are the work of scam artists trying to trick you into divulging your personal details or giving them money to receive your prize.

These scammers will claim that you need to pay a certain fee or tax before you can collect your winnings. They often ask you to pay them via international wire transfer. These types of scams are often mass-marketed as scammers send out emails or messages to thousands of people across the world simultaneously.

2. Online Shopping and Auction Scams

Not receiving the product that you paid for is a common scam that targets online shoppers. A scammer will sell a seemingly perfect product at a cheap rate to lure unsuspecting victims and then send you a faulty, different, cheaply made, and inferior quality product or nothing at all. Scammers might also pretend to sell products to gather your bank account details.

Similarly, there are online scammers who dabble in auction scams. They claim you have a second chance to buy an item that you placed a bid on before the winner pulls out. Such scammers will ask you to pay them outside of the auction site’s secure payment platform so that you can’t claim your money from the site.

3. Credit Card, Banking, and Online Account Scams

These types of scams involve fraudulent companies and individuals sending you emails and text messages posing as your bank, an online payment service, or some other financial institution. Typically, they claim to be facing some problems with your account and request you to verify your details on a fake copy of the bank’s website.

Similarly, some people attempt card skimming to create copies of your credit card and make charges to your account. They out a discreet attachment on an ATM and also install cameras nearby to capture your pin.

4. Dating Scams

Some scammers make fake profiles on legitimate dating websites and apps to scam you out of your money. They usually play a long con in which they develop a strong rapport with you so that it’s easier for them to exploit your emotions and pull on your heartstrings. They typically ask for money to help cover costs related to an injury, illness, family crisis, emergency travel, and more.

5. Job and Employment scams

These types of scams involve work from home offers or an opportunity to invest in a business. Such scammers make promises of a high salary, job security, incredible benefits, and large investment returns. They ask you for upfront payments for fake training programs, business plans, software, security clearance, uniforms, taxes, etc. They can target you via spam email or ads in well-known classifieds.

6. Charity Scams

Scammers often target potential donors while posing as well-known charities. They will collect your money by guilt-tripping you into paying a handsome amount for a legitimate or fictitious cause. Such scammers might exploit a natural calamity or popular crisis making the rounds on news channels.

7. Computer Hacking

Scammers commonly use phishing emails to trick you into giving them access to your computer. They hack your device and “fish” for your personal data by encouraging you to click on an attachment or link. It helps them install malicious software on your computer that allows them to access all the information stored on it.

8. Medical Scams

Medical scams provide you with a range of promising services and products with glowing reviews from people who have been cured of their illness. Scammers advertise these products as alternative medicines that can offer you quick and effective results and pain relief from serious ailments.

The types of scams mentioned above are fairly common, and yet they continue to trick many unsuspecting victims out of their hard-earned money. If you were approached by such a scam, contact FraudTrac right away. We can help you protect yourselves from these fraudulent operations!