Before giving to a charity, you should always research, research and, RESEARCH! It's only natural to want to give during the holiday season as people encourage one another to be charitable. I can't recall the number of times that I walked by my local grocer without seeing a friendly face, waving a bell and asking for donations for a good cause.
With the holidays here, cybercriminals can't wait to exploit your generosity through cyber scams. Always be vigilant when you are shopping online, avoid clicking suspicious links or phishing emails that contain "ecards with malicious links" or emails that appear to come from charities.
"We live in a time when any incident that can lead people to exercise charitable feelings is attractive to cybercriminals," states Alan Brill, the Senior Director at the risk consulting firm Kroll. Often times, within hours of a natural disaster, many fake charities and websites will have popped up already asking for donations. There are even many cases where cybercriminals search for recent and local news i.e., a family lost their home in a fire, a child with a terminal illness "makes a wish," or a historical building is facing demolition, etc. These criminals then create a fake crowd-sourced donation site such as GoFundme, Fundly, and Kickstarter in hopes to take advantage of your goodwill. Many people are scammed in the process and the money never goes to the cause.
In order to avoid donating to scam charities, you should:
Make sure the charity you are donating to is established and trustworthy
Fake organizations use copycat names that sound similar to reputable organizations
Watch out for newer organizations that promise to help the recent high-profile disasters
Go to the consumer.ftc.gov/feautures/how-donate-wisely-and-avoid-charity-scams
Pay only with a check or credit card
Avoid wire transfers or donating in gift cards or cash
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