Charity scams: check a charity in five minutes

Key takeaways

Do not let anyone rush you into giving. A real charity will be glad of your donation tomorrow.
Look the organization up yourself: the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, your state charity regulator, and an independent evaluator.
Refuse to donate by gift card, cryptocurrency sent to a private wallet, wire transfer, or cash to a collector. Give by card or check.
Names that sound almost like a famous charity are a deliberate trick. Check the exact name and web address.
Crowdfunding pages are only as trustworthy as the person who set them up. Give to people you know or campaigns the platform has verified.

Generosity is the target

After a hurricane, a wildfire, a mass shooting, or a war, people want to help, and they want to help now. Within hours, fake appeals appear: look-alike websites, social media posts, texts, robocalls, and crowdfunding pages using photos taken from the news. The stories are true. The collectors are not.

Charity fraud hurts twice. The donor loses money, and the people who needed it never receive it.

The warning signs

Pressure to give immediately, especially by phone.
A name that is nearly right. A word added, dropped, or swapped from a well-known organization.
Vague answers. They cannot say how the money will be used or what share goes to the cause.
Payment by gift card, crypto to a private wallet, wire transfer, payment app to an individual, or cash.
Thanks for a pledge you never made.
A guarantee that you will win a prize or sweepstakes for donating.
A web address that does not match the organization's real one. Many legitimate charities use .org, but anyone can register one, so check the exact domain. See how to check if a link is safe.
No registration. Most states require charities that solicit donations to register.

The five-minute check

Get the exact name, and ask for a website and a mailing address. A genuine fundraiser will give them happily.
Search the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. This confirms the organization exists as a tax-exempt body and whether gifts are deductible.
Check your state regulator. Your state attorney general or secretary of state usually keeps a searchable registry of charities and paid fundraisers.
Look at an independent evaluator: the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, or CharityWatch. They report on governance, finances, and transparency.
Search the name with "complaint", "review", and "scam".
Go to the charity's website by typing the address yourself, and donate there.

If you are being called, you can simply say: "I never give over the phone. Send me something in the mail." A legitimate organization will.

Giving after a disaster

Prefer established organizations with a track record in that kind of relief and a presence in the area.
Give money, not goods, unless a specific request has been made. Cash lets relief groups buy what is needed locally.
Check whether your gift can be designated for the specific disaster, if that matters to you.
Be careful with appeals on social media. A post shared by a friend is not verified by your friend. Trace it to the source.
Text-to-give is real, but confirm the number with the charity's own website first. The donation appears on your phone bill.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has helped many families directly, and it has also been abused. Before giving:

Ask who the organizer is and how they are connected to the person in need.
Check how the money will reach the beneficiary. Reputable platforms show whether funds go directly to the named person.
Look for the family's own confirmation, such as a link shared from their accounts or a campaign named by a reliable local news outlet.
Be wary of multiple campaigns for the same cause by different strangers.
Remember that gifts to individuals are usually not tax deductible.

How to pay

Credit card or check, made out to the organization, never to an individual.
Keep a record of every donation and check your statements to be sure you were charged only what you agreed, and only once. Watch for a one-off gift quietly becoming a monthly one.
Do not give card details to an unsolicited caller. Donate through the website you found yourself.

Street and door-to-door collections

Ask for identification and printed information, and check whether your city requires a permit. It is always acceptable to take a leaflet and give online later. A genuine collector will not mind.

If you think you gave to a fake

Contact your card issuer or bank and dispute the charge. See how to get your money back.
Report it to the FTC and to your state attorney general or charity regulator. If it was a crowdfunding page, report it to the platform, which may refund donors.
Warn the real charity if its name was imitated. They can alert their supporters and pursue takedowns.
Do not let it stop you giving. Choose two or three organizations you have checked and support them regularly. Planned giving is the best defense against pressured giving.

Common questions

How do I check if a charity is legitimate?

Search the exact name in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search to confirm it is a registered tax-exempt organization, check your state attorney general or charity regulator's registry, and look it up with an independent evaluator such as the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, or CharityWatch. Then donate through the charity's own website, typed by you.

Is it safe to donate to a GoFundMe or other crowdfunding campaign?

It can be, but platforms do not vet every campaign in advance. Give to organizers you know personally, or to campaigns that clearly identify the organizer, their relationship to the beneficiary, and how funds will be delivered. Be careful with campaigns created immediately after a tragedy by people with no clear link to those affected.

A caller thanked me for a pledge I do not remember making. Is that a scam?

It is a well-known pressure technique. If you do not remember pledging, you do not owe anything. Ask them to send information by mail and check the organization yourself.

Are donations to a fake charity tax deductible?

No. Only gifts to qualifying organizations are deductible. The IRS search tool shows whether an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

Official sources and further reading

Published September 21, 2026, last updated September 21, 2026. This guide is general education for people in the United States. It is not legal or financial advice, and it cannot tell you whether a particular message or person is genuine. Spot an error? Tell us.

Charity scams: how to check a charity in five minutes and give safely after a disaster