Atlanta – International Charity Fraud Awareness Week (“ICFAW”) brings together charities across the world and the agencies that regulate them in a collaborative social media campaign to raise awareness of issues surrounding charity fraud, cybercrime and best practices. It is coordinated by an advisory panel and led by a coalition of over 40 charities, regulators, law enforcers, representative and umbrella bodies, and other not-for-profit stakeholders whose goal is to raise awareness and share best practices in tackling fraud and cybercrime.
The continued focus this year are the issues facing charities, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is raising awareness against fake charitable organizations during International Charity Fraud Awareness Week. The Charities Division has a duty to protect donors from financial exploitation. However, in recent years, the division has seen that charitable organizations themselves are becoming victims of fraud. This is when someone knowingly impersonates a charity in order to deceive people into “donating” to this fake charity. They can do this by creating an organization that has a name very, very similar to yours and pretending to be a legitimate charity.
“Charitable organizations in Georgia do amazing work serving the public,” Raffensperger said. “Unfortunately, unscrupulous entities take advantage of the trust Georgians have in these organizations. The efforts led by our Charities Division help Georgians look out for fraudulent organizations and help protect the integrity of charitable organizations.”
Ensuring that charitable donations go directly to reputable and legitimate charities is a critical concern. The Charities Division has tips and best practices to help protect both the donors and the charitable organizations that serve the public.
Visit the Secretary of State website sos.ga.gov/# here for more information.
If you suspect a suspicious solicitation or suspect your charity has been compromised, call our Charities Division at the Georgia Secretary of State and/or the FTC and/or law enforcement.
The Charities Division encourages Georgians and to contact division staff if they receive suspicious solicitations.
To report suspicious activity, call (470) 312-2640 or email charities@sos.ga.gov to help #stopcharityfraud.