The holidays bring out the best in people, and many charities count on
end-of-year generosity from donors to meet the needs of those less
fortunate. Sadly, scammers know this and prey on unsuspecting consumers
who don’t do their homework when giving money to charities. Scammers
solicit by phone and email, or post links to fraudulent charities on
social media sites with names similar to those of legitimate
organizations. In some cases, scammers even pose as legitimate
charities, in one variation of the so-called imposter scam.
Western Union and Better Business Bureau launched BBB
Scam Stopper to help consumers reduce their chances of becoming a
victim of common scams. “We urge donors to give thoughtfully, and to be
wary of scams this holiday season,” said Art Taylor, President and CEO
of BBB Wise Giving Alliance. “It’s important to check out a charity
first, and make sure you are giving to a charity that will use your
donation wisely.” BBB’s give.org
has reviews of more than 11,000 charities.
Here are tips to consider when giving money to charities:
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It’s best always to donate to a charity directly after confirming its
legitimacy – rather than giving in response to a phone call or by
clicking an email link.
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Never send a money transfer to an individual for a charity. Western
Union does accept donations for charities, but the money transfer must
be sent to the organization, not to an individual.
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Never share banking or credit card information with a person or
business you don’t actually know.
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Never click on links to charities on unfamiliar websites or in texts
or emails. These may take you to a lookalike website where you will be
asked to provide personal financial information or to click on
something that downloads harmful malware into your computer.
“Resist rushing. If a charity is legitimate, they’ll accept your
donation any time,” said Shelley Bernhardt, Director of Consumer
Protection at Western Union.
For more information visit westernunion.com/stopfraud
or, to test your knowledge of scams, take the Fraud Quiz: westernunion.com/fraudquiz.
To learn more about which charities meet BBB Wise Giving Alliance
standards, go to give.org.
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment
services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western
Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union
provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient
ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to
purchase money orders. As of September 30, 2013, the Western Union, Vigo
and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined
network of approximately 515,000 agent locations in 200 countries and
territories and approximately 115,000 ATMs. In 2012, The Western Union
Company completed 231 million consumer-to-consumer transactions
worldwide, moving $79 billion of principal between consumers, and 432
million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
About BBB
For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping
consumers find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2012,
consumers turned to BBB 124 million times for Business Reviews on more
than 4.5 million companies and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all
available for free at bbb.org.
The Council of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for
113 local, independent BBBs across the United States and Canada, as well
as home to its national programs on dispute resolution and industry
self-regulation.
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Copyright Business Wire 2013