Charity scams happen each and every day. In your desire to be philanthropic, you may be playing into the hands of scammers. Unfortunately, millions of dollars are lost to charity scams every year.

The FBI explains that charity fraud schemes will ask for donations that do little to no work for the supposed tragedy. Instead, the money goes to the creator of the fake charity. Such scams can happen at any time but are considerably higher following a high-profile disaster, whether it’s a natural disaster, a shooting, or something else.

Scams can take a number of different forms:

• Cold calls
• Emails
• Social media posts
• Crowdfunding platforms

Since scams can appear anywhere, you need to know how to identify and avoid the various charity scams.

How to Identify a Charity Scam

It’s easy to identify a scam once you know what to look for. The FTC even offers tips to help you carry out plenty of research.

If a charity calls you asking for a donation, ask questions – including the name of the charity and their web address. Also, find out how much of your donation will go toward the program. If the charity cannot answer (or refuses to do so), that should set off a red flag.

Charities should allow you to pay via credit card or check. If a charity is asking for gift cards or for you to wire the money, this is a common scammer tactic. If you are going to pay online, be sure that “https” is in the web address for encryption and security purposes.

A charity should never rush you into making a decision. If they are telling you that it’s urgent, they don’t want you to do your research.

Tips to Help You Determine if a Charity is Reputable

There are a few tips to help you determine if a charity is reputable or if it’s a possible scam. By taking your time to do a bit of research, you can ensure you’re giving your money to a charity that will actually do what they say they will do with the donation.

• Conduct research using these organizations to determine if a charitable organization is conducting business properly
• Ensure that all of the words are spelled correctly. Many scams will use a name similar to a well-known organization but spell it incorrectly.
• Look at the website address. Most charitable organizations use .org rather than .com
• Don’t assume that a charity has been sufficiently vetted just because a friend on social media shared a link or forwarded an email.

It’s also a good idea to find your state’s website where the most common charity scams are shared. Beyond looking at the most common scams, you can also find contact information to report any scams if you find them.

How to Avoid Charity Scams

More scams are created every year simply because there is always someone who will mistakenly donate to them.

One of the best ways to avoid scams is by giving to well-known and reliable charities that operate within your community. You may also want to search for a cause that you are particularly passionate about, such as homelessness, cancer, or hurricane relief. Choose a charity based on what a search engine recommends – and then do more research after that before donating.

With a bit of research, you can avoid charity scams. Additionally, if you do notice that there is a scam in place online, on the phone, or in the mail, be sure to take the time to report it to the FTC.