Make sure your donation goes to the right place this Giving Tuesday

COLORADO – If you enjoy giving, it’s also important to be on the lookout for people who want to steal your money. This Tuesday, News5 is looking at ways you can stay safe and make sure you’re donating to an actual nonprofit.

Dr. Micheal Skiba, also known as Dr. Fraud, an international financial crime consultant and department head at Colorado State University Global, says fraudulent activity increases 40-50% this time of year.

“They are looking for money, but they are also looking for personal information, so some sites may just be looking for you to log in and access information. This is a huge, huge flag. If you donate, you do not need to log in or create an account unless you want to become a member of this organization. “This is another trick to get personal information,” said Dr. Skiba.

He also explained the numerous warning signs you should look out for. If you’re donating to a charity, check with resources like Guide Star or Charity Navigator to see if the organization is legitimate.

A nonprofit organization should be registered with the IRS and have a unique federal employer identification number (EIN). You can also type the charity name into Google and then type “scam” next to it. This allows you to see if anyone is chatting online about possible fraudulent activity.

You may also see people trying to take advantage of you via email or phone. Make sure you hover over a link before clicking it. If you see a lot of numbers or extra letters in the link, you should not click on them as this could be a sign of a bad website.

Avoid giving other currencies such as cryptocurrencies. The safest way to make a payment would be to pay by credit card as this provides you with certain fraud protection measures.

You may see multiple ways to donate on social media timelines. To make sure you aren’t being taken advantage of, visit the specific charity’s website to donate instead of donating through the ad that appears on your screen.

In 2023, people in the US donated more than $3 billion to Giving Tuesday, according to data from givingtuesday.org.

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