BALTIMORE – December 10, 2021, reported by WMAR2news:

“According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing $1.6 billion to charity fraud so far this year. The median amount lost is around $1,000.”

“A Maryland woman said someone knocked on her door seeking money for boxes to send to disabled veterans suffering from PTSD. He had a business card and a story, so she gave him $40.”

After the fact, the woman found the real campaign online. It ended in 2018.

Her generous gift was gone to the pocket of a scammer.

Link: WMAR2news article.

Double damage

“Charity” fakers do double damage — they steal from us and they steal from those we want to help with our donated dollars.

Check before You Donate

The key to avoiding charity fakes is to check if the group is recognized by the IRS as a nonprofit or charity. CharityCheck101.org helps you do that for free with its Directory Search and Reverse Lookup pages. Get the organization’s EIN and then dig deeper.

Fakes can be non-existent “charities” and can also be groups that spend little or nothing on their purported mission. It’s easy to check spending by reviewing the group’s public IRS Form 990. Find a 990 super fast and free.