How to recognize a fake charitable foundation
Don't be afraid to help: how to recognize a fake charitable foundation
On February 24 of this year, Russia invaded Ukraine. From the first day of the war, Ukrainians and people from all over the world began to transfer money for the Armed Forces, the purchase of medicines and the support of those who fled the bombings and occupation to other regions.
This unprecedented willingness to help has catalyzed the activities of virtual scammers and fake charities. In this regard, the PRNEWS.IO online platform team tells how to keep a cool head and not become a victim of scammers.
Signs of a fake fund:
1.there are no contacts for feedback, does not maintain (does not update) social networks;
2.offers to transfer financial assistance to an individual's card;
3.phishing (fake) site;
4.cheap site (errors, poor quality pictures, automatic text translation, etc.);
5.the youcontrol.com.ua service does not have data about the fund.
How to contact the fund? Any!
In order for a voluntary donation to really help people, first check the foundation's contacts. On the official website of the charitable organization, in addition to the details for the money transfer, the following must be indicated: work phone numbers (they are easy to call!), physical and legal address, profiles in social networks.
Please note: social networks should not be created a week ago, content should be updated regularly, and subscribers should leave comments and reactions under the posts.
Do not transfer money to organizations whose phones are stubbornly silent, and whose accounts in social networks contain only pictures and reposts. In addition to the authenticity of the site, information about the founders, the fund team, financial statements and an official settlement account work.
Transfer money to the card!
Crazy publications constantly appear on the Internet, social networks and various groups, in which representatives of fake funds ask for help to a wounded soldier of the Armed Forces, a large family left without a roof over their heads, etc., which causes as much emotion as possible among readers.
In order not to enrich the pockets of fraudsters, carefully check such content: accounts of volunteers and foundations in social networks, contacts of a charity organization, etc. Pay attention to the authenticity of the people who need financial help, as well as the authenticity of the photos.
You can check them using image search. To do this, right-click on the picture, copy its address and select the "search by picture" option in the search engine. Then paste the copied address. Internet scammers often turn to photo banks for help, because they do not have real photos of real people, so if you see the same photo offered for sale on a photo stock or with a description of a different fee - do not transfer money.
Another sign of a fake charity: fraudsters ask to transfer money to an individual's card. Using personal bank cards is a very bad sign, as the official charity always has a checking account.
A fake fund is a fake site
Checking the authenticity of the website of the charitable foundation will help protect donors from contact with fraudsters. It won't take much time, but it will reduce the risk of falling into an online phishing site to a minimum.
Against the background of military operations in Ukraine and an unprecedented number of people in need of help, phishing is developing so quickly and intensively that it is difficult to distinguish fake pages from real ones. Be very careful: the domains look the same, but are written with slight differences.
Check the domain in the address bar and compare it to the original domain address. Phishing sites use similar domains for Internet users. For example, the charity foundation's domain looks like this: helpukrainenow.com. The domain of the phishing site may look like this: help ukrainewar.com.
The fund is not displayed at youcontrol.com.ua
There is another reliable and fast way to verify the authenticity of a charity fund: the counterparty verification service youcontrol.com.ua. Thanks to it, it is possible to clarify the status of a legal entity (whether it is in the process of reduction), the date of registration of the fund, organizational and legal form, contacts, etc.
How to find?
Checking the fund for purity and reliability was a difficult task even before the war. In recent months, it has turned into a real challenge for Ukrainians who suffer from fatigue and lack of internal resources.
There are two solutions to the problem. You will either have to spend time on independent monitoring of the charitable sector and find an organization suitable for donation. Or donate to funds that have already been vetted and meet the necessary security criteria.
