While Houston and the surrounding region struggles to emerge from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, a new threat is emerging – fake charity scams.
While we all want to help support the recovery effort in Houston, the Internal Revenue Service has issued a warning about scammers trying to take advantage of the generosity of helpful people to enrich themselves at the expense of the truly needy hurricane victims.
After a disaster such as the hurricane, scam artists prey on unsuspecting victims by directing them to donate through bogus websites that, at first glance, appear to be legitimate charities, or claim to be affiliated with well-known charities. These impersonators may also contact you by telephone, email, social media, or even through door-to-door solicitation.
Before you send a check through the mail, or make an online donation using your credit card, be sure to thoroughly check out the charity to make sure it is a legitimate one. You can visit IRS.gov to check the status of charitable organizations.
The IRS also offers additional tips you should follow before making any donations to hurricane relief charities:
- Be sure to donate to recognized charities.
- Be wary of charities with names that are similar to familiar or nationally known organizations. Some phony charities use names or websites that sound or look like those of respected, legitimate organizations. The IRS website at IRS.gov has a search feature, Exempt Organizations Select Check, through which people may find qualified charities; donations to these charities may be tax-deductible.
- Don’t give out personal financial information — such as Social Security numbers or credit card and bank account numbers and passwords — to anyone who solicits a contribution. Scam artists may use this information to steal a donor’s identity and money.
- Never 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.
- Consult IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, available on IRS.gov. This free booklet describes the tax rules that apply to making legitimate tax-deductible donations. Among other things, it also provides complete details on what records to keep.
Additional details on available relief can be found on the Internal Revenue Service’s disaster relief page.
For more information on protecting your identity, or on tax issues related to charitable donations, please contact Gray, Gray & Gray at (781) 407-0300.