As soon as a disaster hits the news, up go the fake relief websites and out go the scam requests by phone, email, social media, and text. If you actively seek to help in the wake of an emergency, always verify that the organization is legit before you hand over any donation. And if a charity contacts you for a handout, avoid responding if you feel pressured.
Charity has been a part of human culture for thousands of years, providing support and resources to those in need when they need it most.
And data shows this tradition is going strong. Giving USA 2023: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2022 shows that individuals represented 64 percent of all national charitable donations in 2022, totaling $319.4 billion.
Sadly, those stats make for an irresistible target for a special breed of scammers: fake fundraisers who know just how to pull your heart (and purse) strings.
Whether you're actively looking for a charity to help or are contacted directly by one, there are consistent scam hallmarks to watch out for.
Disasters and dollars
It's no wonder scammers target charitable donors. The business of giving, Giving USA reports, is a booming one. In 2022 — a year that saw war in Eastern Europe; deadly floods in Pakistan, South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil, and India; earthquakes in Afghanistan and Indonesia; and so on — charitable donations to international assistance organizations grew nearly 11 percent from the previous year.
Warning signs of a scam charity solicitation
In recent months, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have warned the public about charity scams, noting that they can appear in many forms: emails, social media posts, crowdfunding platforms, cold calls, and more.
Since charity scammers can be aggressive, start with defensive moves. The most important one is not to react to a pressured, emotional, or personal pitch.
You can also tell a legitimate charity solicitation from a scam one by observing how they operate.
Fake charity: Pressures you to donate quickly, often on the spot. Legit charity: Accepts donations at any time and at your convenience.
Fake charity: Asks for wire transfers, money orders, cash, or crypto, to be sent to an individual person. Legit charity: Accepts credit and debit card donations via secure platforms.
Fake charity: Offers no record of your donation. Real charity: Offers a donation receipt for you to submit to the IRS.
Fake charity: Calls, emails, or texts repeatedly, even after you’ve told them to stop. Legit charity: Honors any “don’t contact” line you draw in the sand (Keep in mind, fundraisers are allowed to contact people on the National Do Not Call Registry. However, if you ask, legit charities should add you to their internal don’t call list and abide.)
Fake charity: Asks to be taken off speakerphone, if you’re alone, or if you can go into a room to be alone so no one else can question their pitch. Real charity: Respects your privacy and autonomy, and openly shares their pitch.
Fake charity: Has no recourse for your questions. Real charity: Welcomes you to speak to a manager, file a complaint, etc.
Classic signs of a charity scam
Sites and organizations founded at the same time as crises occurs
URLs that are misspelled versions of legitimate charities or causes
Donation requests from strangers who say they know you or your family
Emails asking you to click on internal links or download attachments
Choosing a legitimate charity
Now that you know the red flags of a scam charity, consider offensive moves that will help you pick one you can trust.
Check the databases: Use trusted search engines to see how a charity ranks in terms of its financial responsibility, track record, transparency, and more. You can access reliable charities (and their legitimate sites) directly from many of these and donate to the groups via their own secure platform. The top charity databases include America’s Charities, Candid (formerly GuideStar), Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, and Give.org from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance.
Find out if the charity is tax-exempt: Charities with tax-exempt status — which is no simple feat — earn a listing in the government's database of IRS-approved organizations. Donations to these reputable charities are most often tax-deductible. Besides verifying an organization’s name and mission, search results from this database yield past tax returns.
Search the charity on search engines: Enter the charity’s name along with words like “scam,” “complaint,” “fraud,” and “fake” into a variety of search engines. If what you find doesn’t sit well, don’t donate. Further, search for the company on the BBB's Scam Tracker.
Charity scam in real life
In early January 2024, one anonymous victim from New Mexico posted their experience with a charity scam on the BBB Scam Tracker:
“I donated $50 to an organization claiming to help firefighters. Since then, I have received hundreds of calls from the organization asking for more money. They use a different phone number every time they call, almost always with a New Mexico area code (505 or 575). Now, they’re starting to call me using 689 area code.
I have asked them repeatedly to stop calling me and have blocked all the phone numbers they’ve used, but it doesn't matter. They continued to call me, oftentimes multiple times each day, including on weekends.”
Find reputable charities through a giving portal: Giving portals, like Global Giving and GoFundMe Causes, act as a go-between for donors and charities. Using these, you can donate to a general cause or to specific organizations. The drawback? Giving portals take a small percentage of your donation for operating and marketing costs (Global Giving, for example, takes up to 15 cents out of every donated dollar. Your charity would get the remaining 85 cents, and then deduct their own costs).
Stick with long-standing charities. Because scammers rush to take advantage of the most current disaster or cause, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) suggests you donate to tried-and-true, well-established organizations. Each year, Forbes ranks the top 100 such grossing charities; check out last year's Forbes list as a starting point.
What to do if you give money to a fake charity
Charity scammers excel at one-to-one hoodwinking, but with Allstate Identity Protection on your side, you don't have to combat them alone.
If you suspect something is a scam, remember that you're in control: You can hang up or walk away.
If you think you’ve handed over funds to a scam charity, our expert specialists are here to guide you through what’s next (just sign in to your account and call the number listed there). While it may not be possible to recover funds given willingly (even if you were tricked into doing so), we can help you report the scam to the necessary parties, as well as provide tips for protecting your money and accounts in the future.
Because your generosity should be gifted to charities, not criminals.
