Charity fraud schemes seek donations for organizations that do little or no work—instead, the money goes to the fake charity’s creator.
While these scams can happen at any time, they are especially prevalent after high-profile disasters. Criminals often use tragedies to exploit you and others who want to help.
Charity fraud scams can come to you in many forms: emails, social media posts, crowdfunding platforms, cold calls, etc. Always use caution and do your research when you're looking to donate to charitable causes.
After a natural disaster or other emergency, unethical contractors and other scammers may commit insurance fraud, re-victimizing people whose homes or businesses have been damaged. Sometimes these fraudsters even pretend to be affiliated with the government, when they are not. If you need any post-disaster repairs, do your research before hiring any contractor.
Protect Yourself
The following tips can help you avoid these schemes:
- Give to established charities or groups whose work you know and trust.
- Be aware of organizations with copycat names or names similar to reputable organizations.
- Be wary of new organizations that claim to aid victims of recent high-profile disasters.
- Do your research. Use the Federal Trade Commission's resources to examine the track record of a charity.
- Give using a check or credit card. If a charity or organization asks you to donate through cash, gift card, virtual currency, or wire transfer, it's probably a scam. Learn more about this trick from the FTC.
- Practice good cyber hygiene:
- Don't click links or open email attachments from someone you don't know.
- Manually type out links instead of clicking on them.
- Don't provide any personal information in response to an email, robocall, or robotext.
- Check the website's address—most legitimate charity organization websites use .org, not .com.
- After a natural disaster or other emergency, carefully vet any contractors before hiring them to work on your home or business.
Report Charity or Disaster Fraud
Visit ic3.gov, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), to report disaster or charity fraud scams.
Additionally, you can report suspected disaster-related fraud to the National Center for Disaster Fraud.
Inside the FBI Podcast: Charity Scams
On this episode of Inside the FBI, we’ll learn how charity fraud scams work, how to avoid being conned, and how to report suspected incidents to the Bureau.
Press Releases
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03.19.2024 FBI and IRS Urge Warning on Illegal Charities, Donation Scams
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08.29.2023 FBI El Paso Tech Tuesday: Protecting Yourself From Charity Fraud
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10.05.2022 FBI Memphis Field Office Warns of Charity and Disaster Fraud Schemes
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10.04.2022 FBI Columbia Warns of Potential Charity and Disaster Fraud Following Hurricane Ian
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10.04.2022 Charity Fraud Warning
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12.15.2021 FBI Warns of Charity Scams Following Midwest Tornadoes
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06.14.2021 FBI Charlotte Highlights Top Ten Red Flag Fraud Signs
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09.15.2020 Oregon FBI Tech Tuesday: Building a Digital Defense Against Disaster Fraud
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09.18.2018 Oregon FBI Tech Tuesday: Building a Digital Defense Against Disaster Charity Fraud