For Release
The Federal Trade Commission, the National Association of State Charities Officials, and state charities regulators across the country are announcing the first annual International Charity Fraud Awareness Week (ICFAW), between October 22 and 26, 2018. ICFAW is a coordinated international campaign to help charities and consumers avoid charity fraud and promote wise giving. Consumers can follow the week’s events at #CharityFraudOut.
The FTC and its U.S. partners are joining the Charities Commission for England & Wales, which for many years has hosted its own Charity Fraud Awareness Week. This year, the event is expanding to other countries.
In addition to the U.S. participants in ICFAW, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, the New Zealand Charities Service, and the Office of the Scottish Regulator are also joining in the international outreach effort. Key non-governmental participants include Chartered Accountants Worldwide, the UK’s Fraud Advisory Panel, and international charities Oxfam, British Council, and Amnesty International.
“Generous Americans gave more than $286 billion to charity last year. It’s important to raise awareness about charity fraud and promote wise giving, to ensure that consumers’ money goes where it is intended and helps those in need,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons. “Joining forces with state and international partners makes all of our education efforts more effective.”
To promote awareness of the impact of charity fraud and the importance of wise giving, the FTC is releasing a new video, “Make Your Donations Count.” The video highlights the value of researching charities to avoid donating to a scam, provides tips people can follow to verify the charity before they donate, and directs people to visit FTC.gov/Charity for more information.
Be careful how you pay
- If someone wants donations in cash, by gift card, or by wiring money, don’t do it. That’s how scammers ask you to pay.
- To be safer, pay by credit card or check.
- It’s a good practice to keep a record of all donations. And review your statements closely to make sure you’re only charged the amount you agreed to donate – and that you’re not signed up to make a recurring donation.
- Before clicking on a link to donate online, make sure you know who is receiving your donation. Read Donating Through an Online Giving Portal for more information.
Keep scammers’ tricks in mind
- Don’t let anyone rush you into making a donation. That’s something scammers do.
- Some scammers try to trick you into paying them by thanking you for a donation that you never made.
- Scammers can change caller ID to make a call look like it’s from a local area code.
- Some scammers use names that sound a lot like the names of real charities. This is one reason it pays to do some research before giving.
- Scammers make lots of vague and sentimental claims but give no specifics about how your donation will be used.
- Bogus organizations may claim that your donation is tax-deductible when it is not.
- Guaranteeing sweepstakes winnings in exchange for a donation is not only a scam, it’s illegal.
Report scams to FTC.gov/complaint. Find your state charity regulator at nasconet.org and report to them, too. Share any information you have – like the name of the organization or fundraiser, phone number, and what the fundraiser said.
Organizations that can help you research charities
These organizations offer reports and ratings about how charitable organizations spend donations and how they conduct business:The IRS’s Tax Exempt Organization Search tells you if your donation would be tax deductible.
You can find your state charity regulator at nasconet.org. Most states require the charity or its fundraiser to register to ask for donations.
