Depiction of Fraud involved with charity
Ravi Speaks:
Beware of contributing to fake Charity or fundraising?
We under the emotions sometimes donate heavier funds for various causes or charities or even raise funds for some social cause. It is no doubt a very good gesture from the contributor. Sometimes when the people come to know that the so-called institution or a fundraising cause or even the people projected under tragic situations as victims to be benefitted are all fraud or scam-we get deeply hurt and our trust for such noble actions gets faded away.
Unfortunately, fake fundraising frauds and charities are all too frequent in today’s culture. These frauds may be carried out by persons or organisations who profit off the kindness and sympathy of others.
Scammers typically employ a variety of techniques to trick potential contributors, such as pretending to be a respectable organisation or soliciting money under duress. Additionally, they could make false statements regarding the purpose or destination of the gifts.
Before contributing to any charity or fundraising effort, it’s crucial to conduct your research. Visit reliable websites like Charity Navigator or GuideStar, which offer details about the organization’s finances and how donations are used, to determine the authenticity of a charity. You may also get in touch with the charity directly to confirm their legitimacy and request information about their programmes and services.
Generally speaking, it is a good idea to be suspicious of unsolicited demands for donations, particularly those that arrive through email, phone, or social media. Make sure your donation will genuinely help people in need by researching the organisation before making any financial contributions. You may assist guarantee that your charity gifts go to the organisations you desire to support by being watchful and knowledgeable.
Certain facts like the contribution to a temple construction like Ram Mandir in Ayodhya
we would find bigger funds being contributed by the bigger rich people, whereas even the smaller people contribute as per their capacity for such a noble religious cause. There is nothing like the scam or fake word attached till the time the money goes to the confirmed trust or the institution made for the same. It gives a very proud feeling in such a case where the estimation for the construction was 15oo crores initially and the collection till date has gone four to five times the cost estimated. These are the mega collections and mega fundraising at the national level.
Additionally, initiatives on crowdfunding that purport to be raising money for altruistic causes should be avoided. Even while there are many legal crowdfunding efforts, some con artists exploit these sites to take advantage of people’s kindness.
Donating solely to organisations that you are familiar with and confident in is one method to avoid falling for phoney charities and fundraising con games. Instead of clicking on a link in an email or social media post, you may give directly to the charity’s website or by sending a check.
Let me talk about the daily small-scale situations
– which we come across on the net or in the media. We would like to extend our monetary help to the needy who are ailing from some terminal problem and the bigger amount would help them get cured. Also, we would love to do our charity that way even for the needy in the Destitute centers or otherwise-who are the genuine cases? But the disturbing fact which is reflected nowadays is the fake requests being raised with a high level of emotions pressed on to such advertisements and we get entangled into such scams simply emotionally.
During the Pandemic such fundraising examples are natural but are there Fake ones too?
During the Pandemic, last year, and even this year beginning, many such fundraising examples have come up and most of them were the real deserving ones. But, there have been an enormous number of fake ads coming on the internet mainly where we realize that a lot of money had gone to scammers. Facebook is experiencing a wave of fake fundraising campaigns. The pattern is well known: attackers create groups from scratch and add some posts to them. They provide details of the bank transfer, along with a series of tearful comments. Groups follow a template. The group’s name includes a cry for help and the posts contain emotional stories, primarily about terminally ill children, whose suffering is illustrated by photos and videos posted on the site. Some posts are practically word-for-word copies of posts from other fraudulent groups. The only data that differ in each group are the child’s name, his diagnosis, and the name of the hospital where he is being treated. Contact information and wire transfer details are often the same for various groups, which is the most reliable indicator of fraud. New groups of scammers emerge every month, and although complaints are quickly closed, some users are inevitably caught and transfer money to scammers.
How to distinguish between Genuine and Fake?
Now a very important question to all of us is how we are going to distinguish whether the advertisements or the demands raised are genuine ones or fake ones? We can try the following measures to identify the scammers and that way to save our money going the wrong way and not for the cause to help someone.
Charitable foundations are required to publish this information: – If a website raises money but does not report how the organization spends it, that organization cannot be trusted. Charities that refuse to disclose information about their financials, services, or programmes are another cautionary sign to look out for. Legitimate charities have to be open and honest about how they utilise donations, and they ought to be ready to respond to any inquiries you may have.
It’s crucial to report any fraudulent charities or fundraising scams you come across to the right authorities. You may report the fraud and aid in preventing it from happening to others by contacting the Attorney General’s Office in your state, the Federal Trade Commission, or the Better Business Bureau.
Scammers want to amass money fast and close thereafter:
Scammers want to raise as much money as possible before their group closes, so they resort to emotional pressure. In scam groups, for example, the fundraising goal is often “almost reached” despite recent community formation. They say, there is a “rush bill” to pay, so they need your money right away. The more you rush, the less likely you are to verify that the campaign is real. So when they say they needed donations “yesterday”, it is a suspicious sign.
Sad Poems and detailed descriptions of the disease are unlikely in the real case: – Of course, the desperate mother of a sick child can write an emotional message asking for help, but it is unlikely to contain sad poems. Rather, it is more likely to provide a detailed description of the disease and the measures taken to control it. Therefore, pay attention to all the factors, not just the presentation style.
Missing or messy receipts:
Fraud groups have no trace of medical reports or other medical records. And when such documents are available, read them carefully and make sure they match the details in the help request.
Posting irrelevant information is also a very confusing: -For example, in a group that raised money to treat a girl with heart disease, organizers posted photos of medical reports that said the girl had Down syndrome. Maybe she has both diagnoses, but posting irrelevant information that will only confuse users is a strong sign that something is wrong with the group.
Answers to clarifying questions:
Victims often ask the group organizers for more details. Requests for up-to-date information about the child’s condition, information about the child’s illness and care, including the names of her doctors and nurses.
In scam groups, these comments are removed quickly and the users who posted them are banned. Sometimes these groups post links to the website of a supposedly non-profit organization. In this way, scammers try to increase trust in your page to show that they are not only on Facebook. When you visit such a website, we recommend you do not enter any information, at least not without careful study. First, write the date of the last update and also check that the website has an income and expense statement.
The desire to help others is a wonderful impulse.
But as with many other things in life, you will benefit more from others if you do not act impulsively but think critically. To make sure your money is actually being used wisely, and not just filling the pockets of scammers, take a little time to review the history behind every donation request you receive. Perhaps the best way is to donate your money to a well-known charity rather than to individuals. So you can be sure that your money will get where you want it to go for a purpose or a cause.
In conclusion, it’s good to be kind and support charitable causes, but it’s also crucial to be cautious and knowledgeable about the charities and fundraising campaigns you choose to support. You may assist guarantee that your charity contributions are having a beneficial effect and benefiting the causes you desire to support by completing your research and exercising caution.