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Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway & Better Business Bureau Caution Kentucky Consumers About Seasonal Scams And Fraudulent Charities
Attorney General Conway & Better Business Bureau Caution Kentucky Consumers About Seasonal Scams And Fraudulent Charities
Attorney General Jack Conway and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Central and Eastern Kentucky remind Kentucky consumers that the 'season of giving' is the perfect time of year for fraudulent charities and scam artists to prey on the generosity of others.
"Donations to reputable charities can help clothe a child or even provide a warm meal to a family struggling during these trying times," Attorney General Conway said. "I encourage Kentuckians to continue to open their hearts and wallets to those in need, but remember to give wisely."
General Conway's Office of Consumer Protection and the BBB say requests for donations increase during the holidays and consumers need to educate themselves before making a donation. Consumers can research a charity through the Attorney General's website as well as through the BBB.
"We urge consumers to check out a charity before donating to see if the organization is reputable," said Neil Kingery, President & CEO of the BBB of Central & Eastern Kentucky. "The BBB's Solicitation Advisory Program evaluates charities for compliance with 20 voluntary standards including how they are governed, how they raise and use donations, and how donations are divided between the actual cause and fundraising costs."
Tips for Giving Wisely
- Do your research. Ask for written information before giving so you can research the charity through the Attorney General's website http://ag.ky.gov/civil/consumerprotection/charity/ or through the Better Business Bureau's (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance page at http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/
- Ask what percentage of your donation goes to the charity and what percentage goes to a paid solicitor.
- Donate to charities you know and trust and be careful to distinguish between similarly named charities.
- Don't be pressured into making a donation.
- Ask if the charity is registered with the Office of the Attorney General.
- Charitable solicitors are exempt from Kentucky's No Call law. However, under the Federal Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) a consumer may ask to be placed on the charity's Internal Do Not Call list.
Beware of Seasonal Phishing Scams
Attorney General Conway and the BBB also urge consumers to be leery of seasonal phishing scams and malware campaigns that are sometimes disguised as requests for charitable contributions, electronic greeting cards, online shopping advertisements and credit card applications. One such scam the BBB has seen mimics a shipping/payment confirmation notice from the popular website Amazon.com, urging the recipient to click on links to "view their account."
"In reality, this email could fool a consumer into logging onto a legitimate-looking website and providing personal and financial information to a con artist, or it could infect consumers' computers with a virus," said Kingery. The BBB urges consumers not to open attachments or click links on emails like this, but to verify the communication by calling or logging into their accounts directly from the business' website.
Additionally, General Conway and the BBB ask that consumers follow these tips when shopping online this holiday season.
Only deal with companies that you know and trust and that offer secure payment processing. Look for an "s" in the URL box (https://www.) and a padlock symbol to indicate the site is encrypted.
Beware of contacts made on some of the popular "for sale" listing or auction sites that require you to wire money. Scammers know wired funds are much harder to trace and rely on services like Western Union or Money Gram for that reason. You should never wire money to buy consumer products.
Be aware that if you are selling an item, you may be contacted by a con artist.
Gift Cards
Kentucky consumers should also be aware of changes to the Federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act that affect retail gift cards as well as bank gift cards, such as Visa and MasterCard. As a result of an amendment to the Act, retail gift cards and bank gift cards cannot expire for at least five years from the date the card was purchased or from the last date any additional funds were "loaded" onto the card. The federal law does allow for inactivity only after the card has gone unused for one year.
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