Florida - Tuesday November 28, 2022: Florida's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis is reminding Floridians to stay alert and beware of scams when dealing with charitable causes on Giving Tuesday.
“Giving Tuesday is a great opportunity to give to those in need, but bad actors are always looking for new ways to steal your hard earned money," said Patronis.
Giving Tuesday is a national day of giving at the start of the holiday season that occurs the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. In 2021, Americans gave a total of $2.7 billion to charity, which is a 9% increase from 2020.
Five Tips to Avoid Charity Scams:
• Ask questions. Most online donation campaigns have a comment section, use this tool to ask questions about how the money will be distributed, who the money will go to, and even how much goes directly to support efforts.
• Watch out for similar charity names. Scammers sometimes create fake charity names that are similar to the actual name of the organization with the hopes of creating confusion among consumers.
• Pause before donating. Don’t feel pressured into giving an immediate donation. Always take your time to research the organization to ensure you are making the right decision.
• Use safe forms of payment. Never donate to charities by gift card, wire transfer or fast cash apps such as CashApp or Venmo. Consider paying by credit card for better security.
• Verify on the BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org) Check-A-Charity, which is a standards-based charity evaluator that seeks to verify the trustworthiness of publicly soliciting charities by completing rigorous evaluations based on 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability.