Plan on funding a charity? Avoid getting conned by charity frauds!

Scam artists find numerous ways to con people out of their money, monetizing on their gullibility, carelessness, greed or even compassion. SupportMart, in its continued dedication to fighting scam, will provide extensive coverage on all types of frauds. In this post, we will briefly discuss charity frauds and provide a few tips on how to spot one before it’s too late!

Charity frauds, as the name implies, work on one principle: dupe people into giving money to purported charities that are in reality, anything but charities. Such frauds can be perpetrated on and off the Internet, and can be anything from a small-scale con job to a multi-million dollar institution in its own right! Unfortunately, genuine charities also vary in scale and outreach activities in a very similar manner, so, you can’t cry ‘fraud’ on the basis of these factors.

It is also important to note such scams come from one of two sources: standalone ‘charities’ and ‘charities’ that are an offshoot of a fraudulent business organization. In fact, there are many cases of big corporates writing off huge sums of money as their contributions to bogus charities. This comprises tax evasion and is a punishable offence under US law. So, remember, being a segment of a business organization doesn’t ensure authenticity of a charity fund.

With a little research on charity scams and expert tips from SupportMart, you will be able to protect yourself from fraud and make contributions to organizations that do make a difference where it really matters.

1. Be careful with e-mails soliciting charity fund contribution

You may receive e-mails from seemingly genuine charity trusts, soliciting your contribution for a noble cause. If you are considering making a contribution to the trust, do your research online. SupportMart encourages you to search for the trust by name and read reviews on it, before taking a decision. However, most genuine charities do not send unsolicited e-mails requesting for funds. So, any such e-mails warrant greater caution.

2. Decide where you want to contribute after thorough research

If you are serious about philanthropy, it is important to invest adequate time and effort in researching a suitable charitable organization. Find out names, physical addresses and contact numbers of such trusts. You cannot go wrong with a trust registered with Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving National Charity Seal Program. Cross check the charity with BBB’s list of registered, genuine trusts. If you don’t have a charity in mind, consult the BBB website for options.

3. Charities are given tax exemption under 501(c) (3)

Charities exempted from tax under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code are safe bets.

4. Pay by check, not cash; collect receipts

If you pay in cash, your money could end up being used for purposes other than charity. So, always pay in check, addressed to the charitable trust and not any individual. Do not give out your account details to anyone, and insist on getting a receipt with the name of the trust on it. Genuine organizations will follow these practices even before you ask them.

5. Charity frauds spring up in the wake of natural disasters

This is when you should be more careful. We advises you to read SupportMart reviews on charities claiming to be disaster relief funds before parting with your money.

These are a few tips to get you started. Do check our SupportMart Scam Awareness and SupportMart Fraud Awareness blogs for more good stuff on protecting yourself from cons.

For expert tips or help with configuring your e-mail to weed out scams, talk to us at the provided toll-free number or message us at http://www.supportmart.net/contact-us.