Fraudulent Charitable Organization Donation Scams

November 27th, 2013

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice.

Depending on your opinions regarding the adverse weather effects of “global warming”, globally we are continuing to see and experience extremes of weather conditions which are causing tremendous amounts of property damage, and significant numbers of deaths and injuries.  Often U. S. citizens feel compelled to make a donation to the humanitarian relief efforts to aid those victims and provide financial assistance.  The assumption that follows is that surely their donation must be to an IRS approved charitable organization, and that the donation can be deducted on their (personal  or business) tax returns for that year. 

However, this assumption could be incorrect.  IF you claim a deduction for a donation to an organization that has not been approved by the IRS, or for which the IRS has revoked their tax-exempt satus, you could subject your tax returns to an audit or review by the IRS.  Based on past experiences, these “tax scam” organizations may use one or more of the following schemes:

The scams use different tactics. Offering charity relief, criminals often:

  • Claim to be with real charities to gain public trust.
  • Use names which are very similar to legitimate charities.
  • Use email to steer people to bogus websites that often look like real charity sites.
  • Contact people by phone or email to get them to ‘donate’ money or give their financial information. 

 Before you may any donation, perform your own “due diligence” activities to confirm that you are sending your money to a bonafide charity.

1.  Go to the Internet, use your search engine, and verify the authenticity of the organization;

2.  Contact the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org/us/Find-Business-Reviews/) or (http://www.bbb.org/)

3.  Go to the IRS website (http://www.irs.gov) and use the “Exempt Organization Select Check” tool to locate bonafide charities.  Remember, the website may not have all of the latest organizations.  If you can not locate the one for which you are searching, call the IRS at 1-800-829-3676 or 1-800-829-1040. 

4.  If you can not satisfy yourself that the organization is a bonafide entity after completing steps #1-3 above, DO NOT make the donation!  It is most likely that it is a scam operation and that your donation will personally enrich one or more individual people.

Don’t Fall for Charity Scams Following Disasters

The IRS warns consumers not to fall for bogus charity scams. They often occur in the wake of major disasters like the recent tornadoes in the Midwest or the typhoon in the Philippines. Thieves play on the goodwill of people who want to help disaster victims. They pose as a real charity in order to steal money or get private information to commit identity theft.

The scams use different tactics. Offering charity relief, criminals often:

  • Claim to be with real charities to gain public trust.
  • Use names similar to legitimate charities.
  • Use email to steer people to bogus websites that often look like real charity sites.
  • Contact people by phone or email to get them to ‘donate’ money or give their financial information. 

The IRS offers the following tips to help taxpayers who wish to donate to victims:

  • Donate to qualified charities. Use the Exempt Organizations Select Check tool at IRS.gov to find qualified charities. Only donations to qualified organizations are tax-deductible. You can also find legitimate charities at the Federal Emergency Management Agency website, fema.gov. For more information about the kinds of charities that can receive deductible contributions, see Publication 526, Charitable Contributions.
  • Don’t give out information.  Don’t give your Social Security number, credit card and bank account numbers or passwords to anyone. Scam artists use this information to steal your identity and money.
  • Don’t give or send cash.  For security and tax record purposes, don’t give or send cash. Contribute by check, credit card or another way that provides documentation of the donation.
  • Report suspected fraud.  If you suspect tax or charity-related fraud, visit IRS.gov and click on ‘Reporting Phishing’ at the bottom of the home page.

Get more information about tax scams and schemes at IRS.gov. Click on ‘Tax Fraud & Abuse’ at the bottom of the home page. You can also get Publication 526 at IRS.gov or call 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Additional IRS Resources:

IRS YouTube Videos:

IRS Podcasts

 

 

 

Posted by Bill Seabrooke