How to Avoid Charitable Scams This Holiday Season

Charity scams can appear at any time of year, but the holiday season seems to generate more criminal activity. In part, this is because people are more likely to give at the end of the year than other months. Scammers do their best to divert those well-intentioned funds to their own bank accounts. However, the objective of charity scams isn’t just to steal your money. Identity theft and malware are two other common motives for scammers.

As a community bank with a strong record of service in Central Illinois and the Metro East, charity scams are particularly upsetting to us. Town and Country Bank and Peoples Prosperity Bank are here to help you avoid falling victim to any type of fraud or scam, including charity scams. Learn the tell-tale signs of charity scams so you can say no to fraudulent solicitations. Make a plan for charitable gifts ahead of time and do your research to make sure the organizations you choose are worthy of your hard-earned money. From all of us at Town and Country Bank and Peoples Prosperity Bank, we wish you a safe and joyful holiday season.

What are the signs of a charitable scam?

Review the methods and techniques scammers use to take advantage of people so you can avoid falling for the trap.

Payment Method

Be wary of any supposed charity that asks for a donation via cash, gift card, or a money wire. These are scammers’ three favorite payment methods, so it’s better to pay a legitimate charity with a credit card or check only. Record the charitable donations you make so you can check your bank statements for an overcharge or a recurring transaction that was supposed to be a one-time donation. Another red flag is if the charity representative offers to send someone to pick up your donation right away.

Requests for Sensitive Information

Never give out your bank account number or other sensitive personal information. Legitimate charities don’t need that to process a donation.

High Pressure

Only a scam artist would try to rush you into an instant agreement to make a donation.

Thank You Notes

While legitimate charities usually send acknowledgment letters after a donation, the red flag is a thank you note for a donation you never made. Scammers use this trick to guilt people into paying “after the fact.”

Local Area Codes

Nowadays it’s easy to manipulate Caller ID with local area codes. So, don’t think the person you’re talking to is from a local organization just because of the phone number. Do your research to make sure it’s a legitimate organization before you make a donation.

Emotional Appeals

Don’t open your wallet for a sob story alone. If the charity can’t also provide specifics about how it works and what it’s going to do with your money, that’s a red flag.

False Claims of Tax-Deductible Status

You can easily verify this through the IRS website.

Sweepstakes Winnings

It is illegal to promise a sweepstakes prize in return for a charitable donation. This is almost always a scam, too.

How to Prepare for Charitable Giving at the Holidays

If you plan to donate before the end of the year, take these steps to become an informed giver and protect yourself from scams.

Plan Ahead

Before you get wrapped up in the hecticness of the season, take some time to think through the causes you’d like to support and find the best charities working in those areas. Then you’ll feel confident about your choices and you can easily decline solicitations by saying you’ve already made up your mind.

Conduct Research

Try search terms like “best” or “highly rated” charities + the cause you want to support, such as “pediatric cancer.” Once you’ve narrowed your options to one or two charities you’re considering, search for the charity’s name along with terms like “complaints” and “reviews.” There are also organizations that keep databases of information about charities, including how they are run and what donations are used for. These include Give.org, Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, and GuideStar. You can also use the Illinois Charitable Trust Database Search to verify a charity’s registration with the Attorney General’s Office and compliance with Illinois law.

Proceed with Caution

Be careful with any donation requests you receive over email, text, or phone call. Just as scammers will try to impersonate legitimate companies to try and trick you into giving up sensitive personal or account information, they can also pose as well-known charities like the United Way. This is known as “phishing,” and the best way to protect yourself is to hover over any link in an email before clicking on it. That will reveal the actual URL, and if it’s not what it appears to be you should delete the message. Better yet, avoid responding to email solicitations for donations. Just go directly to the website if you want to make a donation.

Online Giving Portals

An online giving portal is simply any website that provides a fast and convenient way for people to make a donation to one of the non-profits listed there. Before you donate through an online giving portal, spend some time researching the following:

• Where will your money go? Usually, there is an intermediary between the online giving portal and the website.
• Fees: What percentage of your donation will the online portal keep in fees before it sends the rest to the charity? You may want to look for a way to donate directly to the charity instead, such as mailing a check.
• Delay time: How much time will elapse between your donation and the charity’s receipt of it?
• Is there any reason why the charity wouldn’t get your donation? For example, some platforms set a fundraising goal and won’t charge donors unless the threshold is met.
• Privacy: Will your personal information, such as name and address, be shared with the charity or any other third-parties? This isn’t necessarily malicious, but it could set you up to receive unsolicited mailings.

Door to Door Solicitations

If you are approached by a representative of the charity, either on the street or door-to-door, ask if they are in a paid fundraising position. If so, you want to know what percentage of your donation will go to actual charitable acts.

Police, Firefighter, and Professional Fund-raiser Solicitations

Before you give money to help your local police or fire department, contact those agencies to confirm the fund-raising campaign. You also want to know if the organization is charitable or political/social. If the representative tries to coerce you into giving through a promise of special treatment, this is a crime that should be reported to your local police department and the State’s Attorney and Attorney General’s office.

What to do if you think you were a victim of a scam

To report a charity scam and other types of fraud, contact the Illinois Attorney General’s Office at 312-814-2595 (TTY: 1-800-964-3013). Town and Country Bank and Peoples Prosperity Bank are  also here to help. If you have concerns about the security of your account, contact our Solution Center  at 1-866-770-3100.

We love our communities!

You can find the folks at Town and Country Bank and Peoples Prosperity Bank in your neck of the woods, lending a hand to local organizations that help others. Our Community Connect Program provides 16 hours of paid volunteer time for all team members to volunteer in the neighborhoods where we live and work. If you are interested in having your organization listed on our Community Connect list of potential volunteer opportunities, please email Lexi Hannah at lhannah@townandcountrybank.com. We are particularly interested in supporting organizations and programs focused on serving families and children throughout Central Illinois and the Metro East.