People are generous, especially during times of natural disasters. However, more and more charity scammers are taking advantage of people’s generosity during these times. This can be done in a variety of ways, from street and shopping mall scammers, to scam emails, to online scammers.
Scammers often establish false web sites or Facebook pages that look remarkably similar to the real ones. These usually pop up during times of natural disasters, such as floods, cyclones, bushfires, and earthquakes. The effect is a double whammy because they scam your donation money, but they also prevent legitimate aid agencies from receiving essential funds.
In Australia, and many countries across the globe, charities and aid agencies must be registered within the country of origin’s government. Australia has a government register of such charities that people can view at the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) website. The ACNC is the independent national regulator of charities established “to protect and enhance public trust and confidence in the sector through increased accountability and transparency.” The website enables charities to register themselves, helps them to meet their obligations, helps the public to understand the work of charities, and maintains a free and searchable public register.
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The ACNC also has a function that enables people to report suspicious scammer charities through their website. There is also a government website operated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), called SCAMwatch, which provides information to consumers on how to recognize and report local and international scams. SCAMwatch has a program called ACCC Scam Disruption Project (Detect – Disrupt – Disable) where people can also register for free scam alerts. These scams include: banking scams, chain letters and pyramid scams, dating and romance scams, health and medical scams, identity theft scams, investment (get-rich-quick) scams, job and employment scams, lottery and competition scams, mobile phone scams, money transfer scams, online scams, personalized scams, and small business scams.
Charity scams target people of all backgrounds, ages, and income levels. They look like the real thing and they play on people’s emotions. In addition, they encourage an instant, automatic response to manipulate people into their trap. It is quick and easy to establish a fake website, especially for charity sites that are requesting donations for an immediate disaster or event.
What can you, as an individual, do? If the charity request is in person, ask questions about the organization, especially if you have not heard of it before. If you are trying to make an online donation and are not sure of the site’s legitimacy, telephone the number listed, send them an email for confirmation, and check the website carefully for information that appears to be suspicious, such as spelling errors, strange logos, and doubtful bank transfer requests.
Hopefully some of these tips and alerts will give people more confidence in questioning suspicious requests for donations, reporting them, and identifying legitimate charities.
