Deep down, each of us wants to help those who are less fortunate than we are. Many people help others through donations to a large assortment of charity and non-profit organizations. Unfortunately, scammers have seen this as ‘easy money’ and have devised various schemes to take advantage of the situation.
One such charity fraud that has becoming increasingly common is through providing assistance to children and families in foreign countries. Pictures and videos of malnourished, emaciated children and impoverished needy families are portrayed in pamphlets and television spots. The recipient is told how much their money will help and given an addressed envelope.
Although the intentions of the donor are sincere and intended to relieve the suffering of less fortunate people, it is unwise to give money to a charity without researching how the money is actually used. Scams revealed in the past few years have shown that the money collected in many supposed charity events actually went for the personal pleasure of the scammers rather than for the supposed recipients. This gives all charities a bad name and, actually, many work hard to ensure that donated dollars go exactly where they should.
Often charities advertise through various media channels, such as television, magazines, and the Internet. Typically, donations of at least ten dollars are requested. However, thinking critically for a moment, one would realize that the vast majority of the money is actually going to pay for these advertisements in the first place.
In one instance, the organization was properly registered and did send money overseas. Unfortunately, federal investigate showed that almost ninety percent of all donations were used to pay the large salaries of the directors for the charity. This did not leave much for the charity purpose and was, in itself, a type of charity scam.
Charity scams are often very difficult to spot. They can be requests on behalf of the homeless, fighting animal cruelty, the poor, and nearly any other type of help. Sincere charitable foundations do indeed exist, but others are set up for the sole purpose of transferring money from your bank account to theirs.
In order to avoid this from happening, it is vital that you take the time to research the organization completely. Investigations can be done yourself on the Internet or by checking with the Better Business Bureau, the Consumer Complaint Agency, or some other way. If a telephone number and name is given it is important to use telephone services such as phone-registry-spy.net/New-York/Brooklyn/917/234 to verify if the caller is really whom they claim to be.
Volunteers that go from door to door with cans collecting for a familiar organization are certainly open to suspicion. You have no way of knowing if the donation really does go to the organization or not. If the organization is well-known, a direct donation is the best way to go.
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