How To Avoid Scam Artist When you donate to Katrina relief

Images and video of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina are sadly amazing. As is true of our great nation, millions of people lined up to donate to help those who have been affected. While your actions are a shining example of the best traits of people, some unsavory groups are trying to make a profit off the tragedy.

Scam Artists

You can avoid these scam artists taking a few simple steps. Charitable organizations rely on contributions tax deductible as their primary source of funding. Before an agency can offer the benefit of a tax deduction for donations to be classified as such by the Internal Revenue Service. The process is laborious and effectively acts as informal investigation of the legitimacy of the charitable organization in question. Fortunately, the IRS makes this information available to the public.

You can verify the legitimacy of a charitable organization by contacting the IRS or an access to the list of charitable organizations on the Internet as follows:

IRS Customer Service: 1-800-829-1040

http://apps.irs.gov/app/pub78

The link above goes to a page where you can search Publication 78. Publication 78 is a list of all charitable organizations that have received tax-exempt status with the IRS. Scam artist and unpleasant characters will not be listed with the IRS. If the organization you are considering does not appear in Publication 78, you may consider another organization.

E-mail Scam

You should be cautious if you receive an email with the request for money for relief. The e-mail can not be from a legitimate organization. Fraudulent e-mail campaigns are an incredible level. If you are determined to make a contribution because of an e-mail you received, be sure to check the organization with the IRS as stated above.

Unfortunately, there is a second problem with responding to a mail solicitation for monetary donations. Suppose you regularly make donations to a charity of large and you receive a request for a donation of that organization to help with the tragedy of New Orleans and elsewhere. You can click on the link in the e-mail and make a donation, right? Perhaps not. There is still a risk that e-mail is a scam. Many online companies have ongoing problems with scam artists copying their websites, logos, headers, etc., and sending e-mail solicitations to individuals scam. There is no reason to believe that charitable organizations would be less of a target, so be careful.

If you still have to respond to an invitation e-mail with a donation, you should use a search engine to search for the organization in the email. After clicking to the site, you can make a donation in confidence.

The cause devastation of Katrina is there for everyone. Following the above recommendations, you can make sure the donation gets to the people in need.