Charity and Disaster Fraud 

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.
Texas National Guard soldiers arrive in Houston on August 27, 2017 to aid residents affected by Hurricane Harvey. (Texas Army National Guard photo)

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.


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