When a charity you don’t know asks for money after a disaster, spend five minutes checking its ratings and complaint record before you give. If it wants payment only by gift card, wire, crypto, or a payment app, walk away. If it checks out, donate through its own website, not the link or caller that reached you.
Appeals arrive while the disaster is still on the news: a phone call, a text with a donate link, a fundraiser shared into your feed. A fake charity needs little more than a real tragedy and a name you’ll trust at a glance.
Some borrow the sound of a big, well-known charity’s name, and a scammer anywhere can fake a local caller ID. The Federal Trade Commission also warns that scammers rush you so you’ll give before you check. That makes the appeal that found you the one to question hardest, and the charity you look up yourself the safer place to start.
Run your own search instead, such as “wildfire relief best charity” or “hurricane relief highly rated charity.” Then put any group you’re considering through these checks.
- Look it up at Give.org, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s site, and at CharityWatch. Both evaluate how charities spend donations, though neither covers every group.
- Search its exact name with “scam,” “fraud,” “complaint,” “rating,” or “review.”
- Confirm it’s registered with your state’s charity regulator. Most states require a charity or its fundraiser to register before asking for donations, and nasconet.org lists each state’s office.
- If you plan to deduct the gift, check the IRS’s Tax Exempt Organization Search for the group. Gifts to an unlisted group may not be deductible, though churches can qualify without being listed.
Two warning signs end the check early. The FTC says a group that accepts only gift cards, payment apps, cryptocurrency, or wires through Western Union or MoneyGram is likely a scam. A name that sounds almost like a famous charity’s is your cue to find the real one and give there.
Once a group passes, go to its website yourself and give as generously as you planned. Pay by credit card or check, which the FTC calls the safest way to donate.
Bookmark Give.org and CharityWatch today. When the next appeal arrives, you’ll spend five minutes checking instead of deciding on the spot.
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