Charity regulator warns of possible scams

27 July 2011

The Charity Commission, the independent charity regulator for England and Wales, has published advice for people who want to support those affected by the drought and severe food shortages in East Africa.

It is essential that the public continues to support the charities delivering humanitarian aid to East Africa and that every donation reaches the cause. However, there are unscrupulous people who abuse the public’s generosity in response to humanitarian disasters by setting up fake appeals and stealing the donations.

The Charity Commission has been made aware in previous emergency appeals, such as appeals for the Haiti earthquake and the Japan earthquake and tsunami, of scams designed to trick people who believe they are donating to a genuine charity. These can take the form of fake appeal websites, email appeals that falsely use the name of genuine charities, or appeals from fictitious charities.

The Commission is urging the public to keep giving but to be vigilant, and has the following advice for those who wish to make a donation:

• Be careful when responding to emails or clicking links within them. Don’t “click-through” from suspicious-looking emails and beware unfamiliar or excessively long website addresses. If you want to donate online, type in the charity’s website address from your homepage.
• Watch out for poor grammar and spelling in emails and other documents, including collection envelopes or clothing bags. This can also be sign they are not genuine.
• If you have any concerns about the legitimacy of a request for donations that appears to come from a charity, don’t hesitate to contact that charity directly. Be wary of any appeals where contact details for the charity are not provided. You can find genuine contact details for charities on their websites or on the Register of Charities, which is available on the Charity Commission website www.charitycommission.gov.uk.
• If you are in any doubt about a charity collector, ask for their identification and the charity’s name and registration number. If you are not happy about giving then and there, you can check to see if the charity is on the public Register of Charities.
• If you are concerned that you may have been targeted by a fundraising scam, you should report this to Action Fraud http://www.actionfraud.org.uk and the police. You should also contact the Charity Commission – www.charitycommission.gov.uk.
• Think about how you are going to give. If you are a UK taxpayer and donate directly to a charity - whether online, over the phone, by post or by handing in a cheque at the charity's office or shop - it can claim Gift Aid to maximise your donation.

An appeal for the East Africa crisis is being run by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). The money raised will support the efforts of the DEC’s members, which are 14 of the major UK aid agencies and all UK registered charities, best placed to deliver effective and timely relief to people most in need. Information is on the DEC website - www.dec.org.uk. Other registered charities are also currently involved in the relief efforts and are collecting funds to support charity and NGO aid work in East Africa.

There are laws around collecting money for charity in public which are there to protect donors and make sure that the money raised goes to a genuine charitable cause. If you want to fundraise for those who have been affected by the crisis in East Africa, you should:

• Have the necessary permission from your local authority or the Metropolitan Police if you live in a London borough.
• Only collect using a sealed tin or container.
• Always make sure you state the name and registration number of the charity you are collecting for.
• Always make sure there is more than one person to count the collection proceeds and sign off the total amount
• Bank any cash as soon as possible, preferably straight into the charity account. Get a receipt from the Bank/Building Society.
• Report back to your community so they are reassured that the money has reached the good cause. You may wish to put notices in shops/post offices, or let your local paper know how much you raised and thank people for their support.

For more information call the Charity Commission Press Office.

PR 38/11

- ends -

Notes to Editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. See www.charitycommission.gov.uk for further information.
2. Our mission is: to ensure charities’ legal compliance, enhance charities’ accountability, encourage charities’ effectiveness and impact and to promote the public interest in charity.
3. The Charity Commission has produced guidance on safer giving, which can be found on the Commission’s website.
4. The Charity Commission Media Information Centre, available on the Commission’s website, provides useful and relevant background information specifically for journalists, particularly in relation to issues that regularly attract press interest.