Charity Scams

Red Flags

• You are pressured into donating right away.
• You are asked to give cash, prepaid debit cards, or wire money.
• Refuses to share information about the organization’s mission and background and does not answer your calls.
• Will not verify that your donation is tax-deductible and will not provide a gift receipt.
• Cannot provide details on how your information will be used.

What to do

• Ask for contact information for the charity and research them or search for the charity in the resources below.
• Call the charity directly to verify if the solicitation was legitimate.

Resources

• Filing a report can help others from getting scammed and can assist law enforcement with stopping scammers.
• Community Foundation of Northern Nevada | Phone: 775-333-5499
• Guidestar | https://www.guidestar.org
• Charity Navigator | https://www.charitynavigator.org
• Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance | http://www.give.org 
• IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search | https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos
• Report the scam with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by calling their Consumer Response Center at 1-877-382-4357 or visiting https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#. ammers.

The Community Foundation of Northern Nevada, a 501 (c) 3 organization, is established to strengthen communities in our region through leadership and philanthropy. The information provided on this page does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this page are for general informational purposes only.

^{Rev. November 2021}