From bell ringers collecting for charity with kettles to passing the plate at church, this is a time of year many charities depend on your generosity to help fund their good works.
It's also prime time for scammers to hope to trick you out of your cash in the name of a good cause.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Oklahoma ranks 14th in the nation for charity fraud complaints this year. The average loss amounted to about $450.
Social media solicitations are the most common way people are targeted.
Here’s one example. The man at Cary Quilici's door had a business card for a “charity,” but she felt something seemed off. She said he claimed he was going door-to-door collecting money for boxes to send to disabled veterans suffering from PTSD.
Angie Barnett is with the Better Business Bureau. "People used, in this case, an old campaign, found the flyers, found the information went door to door, and you look at it, and you’re like this is legitimate, I’m familiar with this nonprofit, this organization and they just pocketed all the money that was given to them."
Mary did a quick online search and found the real campaign’s information online. She discovered it ended in 2018!
To help protect yourself against giving to fakes charities Barnett suggests, “Use a credit card so you can dispute the charges if you find the funds are in the wrong hands."
Keith Custer is an FBI Special Agent that investigated these crimes.
"Bad guys will take a cause du jour and build something around donating to firemen, or police, or first amendment rights or something along those lines and just robocall or try to get as many people as they can on the line."
He says the pitch is high pressure with claims of the urgent need to rush consumers into giving over the phone.
Custer cautions everyone to slow down, even if it’s a charity name. Scammers often use names very similar to legitimate charities. To ensure your money goes to the real cause, you’re better off donating online or in person.
And one more thing to remember legitimate charities sometimes use paid fundraisers that keep a portion of your donation as a fee. You may want to ask how much of your donation is actually going toward the intended charitable work.
The following websites are great resources. they do the research for you, including evaluating the amount charities spend on salaries, fundraising efforts, and how much is going to charity programs.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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