Coming up on Veterans Day 2022, charity scammers are trying to elbow their way in among the honest charities that support servicemembers and veterans. They’ve got their pitch down pat, too – but the only charity they represent is themselves!
Tugging at your heartstrings with narratives about fake causes, these pretenders are so slick that they will have you reaching for your wallet in no time flat. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has some simple tips on how to spot these charity scams and make sure your donations count for those who honestly deserve it.
Who, what, and how to pay?
If you want to catch charity scammers early in their spiel, you’ll need to do a little research about who they say they’re affiliated with and how your money will impact the program you want to help. Here are a few ways to do just that:
Check the name of the charity and its ratings. The first smart move would be to search the charity’s name online with words like “complaint,” “fraud,” and “scam.”
Another surefire way to spot a bad actor is by checking out the charity at least two charity watchdogs – Charity Navigator, the IRS charity search, the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, or CharityWatch. An added option is contacting the charity regulator in the state where you live to validate whether the organization is actually registered to ask for donations there.
Why get two pieces of validation? A recent investigation…
