Charity fraud

Charity fraud is the act of using deception to get money from people who believe they are making donations to charities. Often a person or a group of people will make material representations that they are a charity or part of a charity and ask prospective donors for contributions to the non-existent charity. Charity fraud not only includes fictitious charities but also deceitful business acts. Deceitful business acts include businesses accepting donations and not using the money for its intended purposes.

Examples

Prevention in the United States of America

There are controls and laws governing charities and businesses that accept donations. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has regulations that can be found on their websites.

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provides online information about avoiding charity fraud, such as fraudulent schemes that emerge in the wake of natural disasters, claiming to be providing disaster relief. The Internet Crime Complaint Center maintains a list of guidelines to avoid charity fraud when making a donation.

It is advised that people should follow certain guidelines when they donate and that they should consult a list such as the one on the BBB’s website. This list includes the participants in the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's National Charity Seal Program. Participants have met standards for charity accountability and may, for a fee, display the seal logo on their websites as well as any other printed documents.[3]

See also

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.