Overheard a neighbor say she donated to a charity that turned out to be a front

Last Saturday at the park, I heard this lady telling her friend she gave $150 to a cancer group that knocked on her door. Turned out it was just some guy collecting cash for himself, no real charity at all. It got me thinking about how often we act on good feelings without checking facts first. I mean, how many of us have dropped money in a bucket because the person looked nice? I pulled up the IRS exempt org list later and found three similar names in my area alone. Has anyone else been burned by a door-to-door solicitor?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thea7d ago

The door-to-door thing is different from just feeling good though, you can look them up before you hand over cash.

henryp407d agoMost Upvoted

Most church groups and charities don't actually go door-to-door anymore without setting it up first through the local parish, so that's usually a red flag right there.

william_garcia7d ago

Did you ever check if the charity you were giving to was actually registered? I had a similar scare a few years back when some kid came by collecting for "disaster relief" after a local flood. Turned out he was just pocketing the cash. What worked for me was what @the_thea mentioned about looking things up before handing over money. Now I always ask for their registration number and check the state charity database on my phone while they're still standing there. It feels awkward at first, but it's better than getting burned. If they push back or can't give you a straight answer, that's the biggest red flag you need.

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