IRS Special Edition Tax Tip 2013-09: IRS Warns Donors about Charity Scams Following Recent Tragedies in Boston and Texas

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent this bulletin at 04/19/2013 02:14 PM EDT

IRS Tax Tips

April 19, 2013

Issue Number: IRS Special Edition Tax Tip 2013-09

Inside This Issue

IRS Warns Donors about Charity Scams
Following Recent Tragedies in Boston and Texas

It’s sad but true. Following major disasters and tragedies, scam artists impersonate charities to steal money or get private information from well-intentioned taxpayers. Fraudulent schemes involve solicitations by phone, social media, email or in-person.

Scam artists use a variety of tactics. Some operate bogus charities that contact people by telephone to solicit money or financial information. Others use emails to steer people to bogus websites to solicit funds, allegedly for the benefit of tragedy victims. The fraudulent websites often mimic the sites of legitimate charities or use names similar to legitimate charities. They may claim affiliation with legitimate charities to persuade members of the public to send money or provide personal financial information. Scammers then use that information to steal the identities or money of their victims.

The IRS offers the following tips to help taxpayers who wish to donate to victims of the recent tragedies at the Boston Marathon and a Texas fertilizer plant:

Donate to qualified charities. Use the Exempt Organizations Select Check tool at IRS.gov to find qualified charities. Only donations to qualified charitable organizations are tax-deductible. You can also find legitimate charities on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Web site at fema.gov.
Be wary of charities with similar names. Some phony charities use names that are similar to familiar or nationally known organizations. They may use names or websites that sound or look like those of legitimate organizations.
Don’t give out personal financial information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card and bank account numbers and passwords to anyone who solicits a contribution from you. Scam artists use this information to steal your identity and money.
Don’t give or send cash. For security and tax record purposes, contribute by check or credit card or another way that provides documentation of the donation.
Report suspected fraud. Taxpayers suspecting tax or charity-related fraud should visit IRS.gov and perform a search using the keywords “Report Phishing.”

More information about tax scams and schemes is available at IRS.gov using the keywords “scams and schemes.”

Additional IRS Resources:

IRS Wants You to Know About Schemes, Scams and Cons
Tax Scams - How to Report Them
Reporting Phishing
Identity Protection Tips
Protect Yourself from the Dirty Dozen Tax Scams - Special Edition Tax Tip 2013-08
Publication 526, Charitable Contributions

IRS YouTube Videos:

Phishing-Malware - English | Spanish | ASL
Protect Yourself from Identity Theft - English | Spanish | ASL
Dirty Dozen - English | Spanish | ASL

IRS Podcasts

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft - English | Spanish

Thank you for subscribing to IRS Tax Tips, an IRS e-mail service. For more information on federal taxes please visit IRS.gov.

This message was distributed automatically from the IRS Tax Tips mailing list. Please Do Not Reply To This Message.

Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact support@govdelivery.com.

This service is provided to you at no charge by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

IRS Special Edition Tax Tip 2013-09: IRS Warns Donors about Charity Scams Following Recent Tragedies in Boston and Texas

Useful Links:

News Essentials

The Newsroom Topics

IRS Resources

Issue Number: IRS Special Edition Tax Tip 2013-09

Inside This Issue