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Tampa Bay police apprehended two bogus solicitors using the name of a recognized police charity. The couple had also been active in Orlando, and when apprehended were headed to Louisiana. While the report doesn’t mention it, I’m guessing they looked for cash donations. If a donor wrote a check to the police charity, the scammers would [...] The IRS has released a summertime warning on top tax-related scams. Abuse of charitable organizations and deductions grabbed 4th place, in the company of phishing, return preparer fraud, hiding income offshore and frivolous arguments. Elaborating on charity abuse, the IRS reported The IRS continues to observe the misuse of tax-exempt organizations. This includes [...] The New York Daily News reports that Andrew Cuomo, NY’s attorney general, has sued a local “charity” called Feed the Hungry over the handling of its car donation program. The suit alleges that less than 2% of the proceeds of the donation program went to helping the homeless. The suit is part of a wider [...] Based on an investigation that included use of undercover investigators who went to work for the telemarketing companies, NY attorney general Andrew Cuomo’s complaints allege the telemarketers used aliases and failed to disclose that they were paid fundraisers, to make it seem like the donor was giving directly to the charity, The Orange County Register published a terrific reminder about the dangers of “charities” seeking donations through paid telemarketers. Charity scams and telemarketing frequently go hand-in-hand. I don’t give to “charity” telemarketing appeals by paid marketing groups — and encourage you to follow my lead. Read the story. Read our Red Light warning on charity telemarketers. It’s a terrific time to be generous. With demand for charity services up, and donations to charity down, charities need our support now. The list highlights “charitable phishing scams” — e-mails that appear to be from legitimate charities. “Not only will they take your money and deprive charities of needed funds, but they will also steal your credit card information and identity.” Read Larry Magid’s article at CNET News. Avoiding “charity” scammers is an important part of smart giving. Every dollar scam “charities” take in is a dollar that could instead have gone to a strong charity doing valuable work with the funds entrusted to it. Join our Serious Givers email group now and we’ll send you our Top Tips for Avoiding “Charity” Scammers — a [...] Whenever you are thinking of donating or volunteering, keep our top ten tips in mind. Confirm each proposed organization’s charitable and tax status. Is the charity a Qualified Organization — where not only its income is tax-free but your donation is deductible to you? Check Publication 78. We here in California are not alone dealing with the sleazy folks who dress themselves up as charities and dial for dollars for causes including veterans, firefighters, police and more. Another one of these groups has now hit Minnesota, according to a story in the Minneapolis – St. Paul StarTribune. See our post in May on [...] |
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