Press release available in both English and Spanish.

As most of the country weathered winter storms over the past few weeks and many charities have been set up to help those people in need, don’t let scammers prey on your kindness. Scammers want to help themselves to your money. They’re competing with legitimate charities and taking advantage of your generosity.

Charity fraud schemes seek donations for organizations that do little or no work—instead, the money goes to the fake charity’s creator.

Charity fraud scams can come to you in many forms: emails, social media posts, crowdfunding platforms, cold calls, etc. Always use caution and do your research when you’re looking to donate to charitable causes.

Protect Yourself

The following tips can help you avoid these schemes:

• Never let anyone rush you into donating. Pressuring you to act right away is something that scammers do.
• Give to established charities or groups whose work you know and trust. Don’t assume that charity you have seen on social media or online is legitimate, even it if was sent to you by a friend.
• Be aware of organizations with copycat names or names similar to reputable organizations.
• Be wary of new organizations that claim to aid victims of recent high-profile disasters.
• Do your research. Use the Federal Trade Commission’s resources to examine the track record of a charity.
• Give using a check or credit card. If a charity or organization asks you to donate through cash, gift card, virtual currency, or wire transfer, it’s probably a scam. Learn more about this trick from the FTC.
  • Don’t click links or open email/text attachments from someone you don’t know.
  • Manually type out links instead of clicking on them.
  • Don’t provide any personal information in response to an email, robocall, or robotext.
  • Check the website’s address—most legitimate charity organization websites use .org, not .com.

If you suspect you’ve been victimized or have information about these types of schemes, you can:

Puesto que la mayoría del país sobrevivió tormentas invernales en las últimas semanas y muchas organizaciones de beneficencia se han establecido para ayudar a la gente necesitada, no deje que los estafadores se aprovechen en su amabilidad. Estafadores quieren ayudarse a asimismo con su dinero. Están compitiendo con organizaciones de beneficencia legítimas y se están aprovechando de su generosidad.

Los planes de fraude buscan donaciones para organizaciones que hacen poco o nada de trabajo—en cambio, el dinero va a el creador de la organización de beneficencia fraudulenta.

Estafas de fraude de supuestas organizaciones de beneficencia puede llegar a ti en muchas formas: correos electrónicos, posts en medios de redes sociales, plataformas de crowdfunding, llamadas no solicitadas, etc. Siempre use precaución y he investigue cuando quiere hace una donación a causas benéficas.

Protéjase

Los siguientes consejos le pueden ayudar a evitar estas estafas:

• Nunca deje a nadie que lo apresure a donar. Presionando que actúe de inmediato es algo que los estafadores hacen.
• Done a organizaciones de beneficencia establecidas o grupos que conoce su trabajo y les tiene confianza. No asuma que la organización de beneficencia que vio en las redes sociales o en línea es legítima, aunque haya sido enviado por un amigo.
• Tenga en cuenta de organizaciones con nombres de imitación o nombres similares a organizaciones respetables.
• Tenga en cuenta nuevas organizaciones que afirman ayudar a víctimas de recientes desastres de alto nivel.
• Investigue. Use el Federal Trade Commission’s resources para examinar el historial de la organización.
• Use un cheque o tarjeta de crédito para donar. Si una organización de beneficencia u organización le pide que done por medio de dinero, tarjeta de regalo, moneda virtual, o transferencia bancaria, es probablemente una estafa. Averigüe más sobre este método en FTC.
• Practique buena higiene cibernética:
  • No haga clic a enlaces o abra los correos electrónicos/textos adjuntos de alguien que no conoce.
  • Teclee manualmente los enlaces en vez de hacerlos clic.
  • No proporcione nada de información personal cuando conteste un correo electrónico, llamada automática o texto automático.
  • Verifique la dirección del sitio web—sitios web de la mayoría de las organizaciones de beneficencia legítimas usan .org, no .com.

Si sospecha que ha sido victimada o tiene información de este tipo de fraude, puede:

A version of the following op-ed from the FBI appeared in the The Virginian-Pilot on February 14, 2021.

The FBI’s Norfolk Division has been serving Hampton Roads for nearly 80 years, working closely with our partners to confront a broad range of threats and keep our community safe. The men and women of Norfolk have captured infamous spies, faced down mobsters, street gangs and outlaw bikers, and exposed corrupt bankers and dishonest public officials. In December, I was given the honor of leading this accomplished FBI division into the next decade.

Every decade brings its own challenges, but the FBI’s mission to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution never changes. In Hampton Roads, we expect counterintelligence threats will continue to confront our military and defense industries, malicious cyber actors will target our business community, scammers will attempt to deceive older Americans, and online predators will prey on children. The COVID-19 pandemic will offer criminals new opportunities to dust off old scams, and while violent extremism is not new the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol demonstrates the urgency of those types of threats today.

In response to the Capitol attack, Norfolk is assisting with the FBI’s Washington Field Office investigation. The Norfolk Joint Terrorism Task Force has arrested five individuals in the region for criminal activities related to the attack and continues to identify more thanks in large part to tips from the community.

Protecting Hampton Roads from all forms of violent extremism will continue to be a top priority for Norfolk. Our mission is proactive, and our goal is to prevent international and domestic extremists from conducting violent attacks in the first place. To be clear, the FBI does not investigate First Amendment protected activity. Our focus is not on rhetoric or membership in particular groups, but on violence, threats, and criminal activity. We work together with our partners through the Norfolk JTTF to ensure our communities are safe, but law enforcement efforts alone are not enough to stay ahead of the threats. We need help from the community and ask anyone who witnesses concerning behavior to contact us and help us prevent violent attacks that disrupt our peaceful communities and endanger innocent lives.

The division is also focused on growing threats from cyber criminals. As the virtual world evolves, cyber threats are more pervasive and everyone is a potential target. Ransomware attacks disrupt schools and cripple hospitals. Business e-mail compromise schemes trick employees into diverting financial transfers to criminals. Romance scams victimize older Americans and break hearts as well as bank accounts. Most of these scams originate overseas, and while the FBI has a long reach once money is sent it is very difficult to get it back. Our most effective weapon in this fight is prevention and our public awareness efforts aim to help people avoid becoming a victim. To stay up to date on new warnings follow us on Twitter @FBINorfolk and visit our web page at fbi.gov/Norfolk.

Hampton Roads has long been a target for foreign adversaries and our counterintelligence mission will be one of our most important priorities for decades to come. Hostile adversaries target the region’s critical infrastructure and maritime industries, and foreign intelligence services attempt to leverage insiders to steal military and government secrets, technology, and American know-how. In this arena, we work closely with our military and intelligence partners and lean into relationships we have built within the defense industry, academia, and the private sector to protect the nation’s secrets and economic interests.

Keeping Hampton Roads safe and protecting our vital economic and strategic interests is a shared responsibility, and success requires a community-wide approach built on relationships of trust. For our part, as we carry out the FBI’s mission, we commit to upholding the standards of collaboration, transparency, and integrity this community has come to expect from the Norfolk Division.

Brian C. Dugan
Special Agent in Charge
FBI Norfolk Field Office