Attorney General Chris Carr and Governor Brian Kemp are urging Georgia residents to beware of imaginable scams seeking donations for those impacted by the caller tornadoes.
“We cognize Georgians privation to assistance those successful request but it is important that each citizens stay alert of imaginable scams erstwhile contributing to tornado alleviation efforts,” said Attorney General Carr. “Scam artists volition prey connected people’s generosity to perpetrate fiscal oregon individuality theft. Stay vigilant, beryllium highly cautious of unsolicited contacts and bash your probe earlier donating your hard-earned money.”
“Those impacted by this tempest person been connected Marty, the girls, and my mind,” said Governor Kemp. “As we are each anxious to assistance enactment betterment efforts and lend a manus to those successful need, Attorney General Carr and I besides privation Georgians to beryllium mindful of con artists that sometimes effort and capitalize connected these types of disasters. Please heed the proposal beneath if you are called to give, and let’s marque definite that immoderate charitable efforts spell to those who were impacted – not scammers.”
It is reasonably casual for a scammer to acceptable up a realistic-looking website, transcript a logo oregon make a sanction that sounds precise adjacent to that of a well-known charity. While immoderate charities are wholly bogus, adjacent decently established charitable organizations walk varying amounts of donations connected the existent programs they support. Consumers should besides beryllium cautious erstwhile responding to ads oregon posts they spot connected societal media oregon crowdfunding sites, arsenic these are not ever morganatic – adjacent if they person been shared oregon liked by your friends. It is precise important to instrumentality your clip to reappraisal an enactment thoroughly earlier you springiness idiosyncratic your money.
Before you donate:
- Consider donating lone to charities you cognize and trust.
- The pursuing websites tin assistance you find whether an enactment is reputable and however apt it is to usage your wealth efficaciously and efficiently:
- Find retired whether the foundation plans to stock your interaction accusation with different charitable organizations oregon selling companies. This commonly occurs, which is wherefore radical often person solicitations from different charities aft making a donation. You tin reappraisal a charitable organization’s donor privateness policies by visiting Charity Navigator and BBB Wise Giving Alliance.
- Never springiness retired your recognition paper oregon slope relationship accusation successful effect to an unsolicited telephone call, email oregon text. Instead, inquire the idiosyncratic to message you information.
Red flags that whitethorn bespeak a scam:
- High-pressure income tactics oregon excessively affectional appeals.
- Unsolicited emails – particularly from idiosyncratic claiming to beryllium a unfortunate – asking for your recognition paper oregon slope relationship information.
- Insistence that you wage via cash, ligament transportation oregon acquisition cards.
- Charities that popular up rapidly pursuing a calamity oregon earthy disaster.
- Organizations that garbage to supply elaborate accusation astir their identity, mission, costs, however the donation volition beryllium utilized oregon impervious that contributions are tax-deductible.
- Organizations that usage a sanction that intimately resembles that of a better-known, reputable organization.
Reporting Fraud:You tin study suspicious charitable solicitations to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Charities Division by calling 470-312-2640 oregon sending an email to charities@sos.ga.gov, oregon to the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division by visiting consumer.ga.gov or calling 404-651-8600.
Opportunities to Volunteer:To presumption a database of unpaid organizations helping those affected by the caller tornadoes, visit Georgia Voluntary Organizations Active successful Disaster (VOAD) or the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.
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