If contacted, residents are asked to contact federal agency who is equipped to investigate claims
Natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey over Labor Day weekend and most recently Hurricane Irma usually create an outpouring of support from individuals throughout the country.
Unfortunately, they also create an outpouring of groups and/or individuals using fake charities to take advantage of that generosity and scam people out of their money. The Internal Revenue Service and local law enforcement officials want residents to be aware of these schemes and take steps to safeguard their personal finances.
Cheney Police Chief John Hensley said his department dispatch center has received several calls from residents about these fake organizations and what they should be doing about them. Whether or not any illegal activity has resulted, Hensley couldn’t say.
“We don’t know who they have actually called and who has given money,” he said.
Hensley said some of the calls have been about typical scams where the caller claims the person on the other end of the phone owes the government money and must pay immediately or face jail time.
“The IRS never threatens incarceration,” Hensley said.
But some of those calls have also been about fake Harvey relief organizations. According to an Aug. 29 IRS news release, such schemes involve contacts via telephone, emails, in-person and social media, and often attempt to steer people towards bogus websites.
“These sites frequently mimic the sites of, or use names similar to, legitimate charities or claim to be affiliated with legitimate charities in order to persuade people to send money or provide personal financial information that can be used to steal identities or financial resources,” the news release notes.
The IRS advised people wishing to make disaster-related donations to be sure to donate to recognized charities and be wary of those with names that are similar to familiar or nationally-known organizations. Individuals should never give out any personal financial information to anyone seeking a contribution; never give or send cash and always contribute by check, credit card or any method that provides documentation for security and tax record purposes.
If fraud is suspected via email, individuals should visit IRS.gov and search for the keywords “Report Phishing” for a link to an appropriate portion of the site. Hensley urged residents to contact the IRS and not the police should fraud be suspected or has taken place as the department lacks the resources to investigate such claims.
“Calling us doesn’t really help us or anything,” he added. “There’s just not enough to go on.”
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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