Individuals are not the only ones targeted by charity fraudsters. Frequently businesses are targeted, also. One way businesses are targeted is by being solicited to buy advertising in publications that look like they're sponsored by nonprofit groups. Just because the publication may use words like "firefighter," "police," or veteran doesn't necessarily mean they are affiliated with these groups. The prudent thing is to check out any unknown charity with a site like NASCO (National Association of State Charity Officials), which provides resources to identify legitimate charities throughout the country.
The results are starting to come in from the efforts put forth in Operation False Charity. On Friday, Jerry Brown, the California AG, announced they have filed eight law suits on 53 people, 17 telemarketers, and 12 charities accused of squandering millions of dollars of charity money intended to support policemen, fire fighters, and veterans. According to the announcement, the so-called agencies involved had bloated overheads and even purchased a 30-foot sail boat with the money they collected.
Thus far, 76 law enforcement actions against 32 fundraising companies, 22 non-profits or purported non-profits on whose behalf funds were solicited, and 31 individuals throughout the United States have been initiated as a result of Operation False Charity. Also included in this total are two FTC actions against alleged fake non-profits and the telemarketers making the calls.
If you want to learn more about how to make your donations count, you can visit the special site the FTC has put up on this subject. Furthermore if you spot what you suspect is charity fraud, contact your State Attorney General or local consumer protection agency.
Other recognized places to ensure a charity is legitimate are the American Institute of Philanthropy, Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance and CharityNavigator.
You also may file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by visiting the page on their site, or calling toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261.
Article comments
1 - Joanne Huspek
An article that hits home. You wouldn't believe the number of phony requests we get everyday in our business. A good way to tell is to request a call back number. If they won't give one, it's likely a boilerplate operation. Or ask for a supervisor. If you get a hang-up, you'll know you've been fished.
2 - smartalek
Ms Huspak's suggestion is an excellent one -- but one that I forget to apply all too often when I'm subjected to scam calls at work. (At home, I'm usually focused enough to remember.)
I believe it is the case that there are lists in circulation among the Bad Guys of names / phone numbers / e-mail addresses of anyone and everyone who has ever fallen for any kind of scam -- or even not fallen for one, but who have responded to some kind of come-on to the point of providing the would-be scamster with a fone number or e-mail address that they didn't already have (or, if they did, having that data point tagged as more target-able)*.
If you're on the receiving end of a higher number or rate of possible scam invites than other people you know, it's an indication you might be on such a list somewhere. Compare your experiences with friends, family, colleagues -- and on sites that list scams (there are quite a few, easily Google-able). If you get more solicitations than the norm, you might consider even changing your phone number, e-mail address, etc.
Finally, remember that the elderly are often especially targeted by scamsters -- and often more successfully, for a number of reasons. (They may not be as used to the wired world as people who grew up in it, and may not have as much skepticism and/or defensive responses ready to deploy; their memories may not be as complete and reliable as those of younger folks; if they live alone, they may not have immediate cautionary feedback from someone noticing what's going on with their phone calls / e-mail; etc, etc.)
If you have relatives / friends / colleagues (of any age, but esp on the older side) who might be vulnerable, it might be helpful to talk with them, send along cautionary e-mails, point them at scam-list websites, &c.
*Along these lines, it took me over a year after getting my first internet account to realize that my sending angry responses to the ubiquitous Nigerian 419-scam e-mails was actually increasing the rate at which I received them -- because it confirmed to the scammers that the particular e-mail address I was using was real, current, and active.