Beshear Issues Guide to Help Kentuckians Avoid Charity Scams

Beshear Issues Guide to Help Kentuckians Avoid Charity Scams

Giving guide part of Charity Fraud Awareness Week effort to help Kentuckians avoid scams

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 22, 2019) – In support of Charity Fraud Awareness Week, recognized Oct. 21-25, 2019, Attorney General Andy Beshear issued a charitable giving guide to help Kentuckians avoid falling victim to charity scams.

“Charity scams occur throughout the year, but tend to peak throughout the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons when donors feel more inspired to help others in need and get the added bonus of qualifying for a tax deduction before the end of the calendar year,” Beshear said. “By following my Charitable Giving Guide, Kentuckians can make sure their donations go to serve legitimate charities that will use their donations wisely.”

Estimates suggest Americans donate approximately 2% of their disposable income to charity each year. In 2017, Americans gave $410 billion to charities.

Beshear’s charitable giving guide provides these tips to help protect Kentuckians from scams, especially during the busy last-quarter of the year.

• Plan your giving in advance
  Don’t respond to mass charity solicitations, suspicious charity requests that scammers typically use on social media ads, by phone or through email.

• Identify a charity aligned with your values
  Before making a donation, think about which organizations align with your values, don’t be afraid to ask a fundraiser about the organization’s mission, goals and history of success in supporting veterans, children, animals, food insecurity or other worthy causes. Consider if you want your donation to support a large or small, local, national or international charity.
  
  
• Decide the appropriate donation level 
  Donate at an amount or level you are comfortable with, not giving in to any pressured upsells.

• Research charities
  Only donations made to qualified charities are tax deductible. Donors who are not familiar with a charitable organization should verify their 501(c)(3) status and what percentage of their income goes to the charity’s purpose. There are several online watchdog websites where donors can verify this information and look over charity reviews, leadership and annual report information.
  • BBB Wise Giving Alliance
  • Charity Navigator
  • Charity Watch
  • GuideStar
  • IRS

The Office of the Attorney General also maintains information on active charitable organizations registered in Kentucky.

• Watch out for imposters
  Be skeptical of social media ads and charities with similar sounding names or concepts. Make sure the website or mailing address you are sending your donation to is the correct, legitimate charity.

Beshear also reminds Kentuckians never to wire money or use gift cards or cash to make a donation. And don’t provide detailed personal information such as your Social Security number or bank account information, which is typically asked for by bogus websites looking to steal your identity.

As attorney general, one of Beshear’s core missions has been to protect Kentucky families, including senior citizens and veterans, from scams and fraud.

In August, Beshear shut down a sham hospice charity exploiting Kentucky and other states’ hospice services for personal enrichment by soliciting donations appearing to benefit local hospice providers. The organization, New Hope Foundation Inc. had gross receipts totaling more than $4.2 million in 2016. It was forced to dissolve and three of its officers are now banned from any charity or fundraising activities in perpetuity.

In 2018, the Office of the Attorney General helped settle the largest joint enforcement action ever brought by state charity regulators by dissolving the Cancer Fund of America Inc. and three affiliated charities that profited by scamming nearly 150,000 Kentuckians.

To report a fraudulent charitable solicitation or a scam, contact the Attorney General’s Office at 888-432-9257 or file a complaint online.

See the most up-to-date charities registered with the Office of the Attorney General here.

Kentuckians are urged to stay up to date on new and trending scams by signing up for Scam Alerts. To enroll text the words KYOAG Scam to GOV311 (468311), or enroll online at ag.ky.gov/scams and select text message or email alerts.

When Kentuckians do fall victim to scams and bad business deals, Beshear’s office helps them recover. To date, the Senior Protection and Mediation Services Branch has recovered more than $2.5 million at a rate of $3,145 returned to the pockets of Kentuckians per day in 2019.

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