“The reason for that is when you hand over cash into a bucket or you use your debit card, or even sometimes a check, you’re really handing over a lot of personal information about yourself that’s going to allow a scammer or even a legitimate, but highly inefficient charity, to take that money directly out of your bank account or out of your hand,” said Styron. “When you use a credit card, if you realize that you made a mistake, most credit card companies have processes in place where you can dispute that charge if the charity itself is not willing to refund your donation,” she added.
