Holiday charity scammers: what to know before you give

Even as millions of Americans took part in “Giving Tuesday,” a national day of giving to a charity of your choice, there is a negative aspect people who want to make a donation this holiday season should keep in mind: crooks.

According to the Better Business Bureau, November and December months are popular months for scammers to start target you, and for false charities to try and beg for your donation.

Make-A- Wish Foundation, Kids Wish Network and Children’s Wish Foundation International all have the same goal in mind: to help ill and needy children make their dreams come true. Sadly, the money might not be going where you think.

Kids Wish Network, based in Florida, brought in nearly $14 million in 2014, according to it’s tax form. However,looking deeper into it, the nonprofit’s expenses outweighed it’s contributions, leaving it with negative $700,000, meaning, it’s unknown if any contributions were made.

Sean Spence, with the Better Business Bureau, says one of the most important things to do is do your research about a charity.

“If you don’t know the charity, do the research you will find a lot of information just by doing a simple Google search,” Spence said.

A total of $116 million was donated on Giving Tuesday last year, but Spence said several million was lost just to scammers alone.

“It’s so easy for people to mimic another organization, it’s just really important to look into things a little bit deeply than it ever way,” Spence said.

One of the key ways to detect if someone might be part of a scam is if they continuously try and pressure you to donate to a scam.

“A key that so many charitable scams due is pull at those emotional heartstrings to pull where they try to grab your emotions to get you to try and give right away,” Spence said.

Several different ways you can check if a charity is legitimate is by checking with the Better Business Bureau, Guide Star and Charity Watch.