In everyone’s heart there is a desire to help their fellow man. Many do this through donations to various non-profit organizations. Sadly, scammers have begun to take advantage of people’s goodwill and generosity, creating schemes to deceive.

One charity scam which has been prevalent in the past few years is helping families and children overseas. The fact is our media is saturated with cases of starving children and poor families. The viewer’s feelings of sympathy are appealed to and an address or envelope is provided for easy giving.

Although the intentions of the donor are sincere and intended to relieve the suffering of less fortunate people, it is unwise to give money to a charity without researching how the money is actually used. Within the past few years, several scams have demonstrated that the money collected for various charities have instead gone right into the scammers pockets and never reach the needy recipients. As a result, potential donors are suspicious of all charities, including the honest ones that use the money as advertised.

Charitable organizations use magazines, mailings, television, the Internet, and other means to reach a wide audience. Typically, donations of at least ten dollars are requested. If a person stops to think how much is spent for these advertisements they would know where most of the money is going.

As an example, one charity that was investigated was set up legally and actually sent money to the needy in foreign lands. But it was disclosed that ninety percent of the money that was donated to them went for the generous salaries of the administrators. This left very little for the needy and, in the end, this charity was just another deceit.

Charity scams are often very difficult to spot. It can be a plea for the homeless, the destitute, animals, and just about anything else. While there are many legitimate charities in existence there is always someone in the wings that will use any means to remove money from one’s pockets in order to fill their own.

Proper investigation is the only way to tell if a charity is real or counterfeit. Investigations can be done yourself on the Internet or by checking with the Better Business Bureau, the Consumer Complaint Agency, or some other way. If a telephone number and name is given it is important to use telephone services such as quick-private-lookup.net/951/801/ to verify if the caller is really whom they claim to be.

If someone comes directly to your house collecting donations for a well-known charity, you should immediately be wary. There is no way to tell if the money is actually going to that charity or is being stolen by the individual collecting the funds. For a well-known and trusted organization, a mailed or hand-delivered gift will ensure that the money actually goes for its intended purpose.