Every disaster and every giving season brings lookalike charities and fake fundraisers. Here’s how to make sure your kindness reaches the people it’s meant for.
A hurricane hits. Within hours, your feed fills with fundraisers, heartbreaking photos, and “Text DONATE to help families now.” It’s the holidays and a bell ringer you’ve never seen asks for cash for the kids. You want to help. Of course you do.
Scammers know that too, and they show up right alongside the real helpers.
Just because somebody’s wearing the T-shirt doesn’t mean they work for the charity. Don’t hand money to whoever shows up asking. Go to the charity’s official website yourself, so your money goes exactly where you meant it to.
A QR code on a flyer is just a web address you can’t read, the same trick behind the parking meter QR scam. If you want to give, type the charity’s address in yourself.
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