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‘Tis the Season By Brian Hartman, #866 Scottsdale Police Department Crime Prevention Officer, Via Linda District
As we enter the holiday season, the Scottsdale Police Department will likely see an increase in charity scams. It is very important to research the charity to which you want to donate your money. If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from a charitable organization, you can simply ask for the charity website and a phone number to call after you have completed your online research of the company. A legitimate charity will be happy to provide you with this information and should not pressure you into donating money before giving you an opportunity to research the organization. Upon obtaining the contact information, be sure to follow up and research the organization online. Here are some appropriate websites in which to research charities: 1. give.org (Run by the Better business Bureau) 2. Charity Navigator 3. CharityWatch 4. Guidestar After the holiday season, scammers will often change their strategy and begin trying the IRS tax scam. The scammer may contact you and claim to be an IRS agent, for example. He/She may tell you that you owe money for back taxes and further advise that failure to pay immediately will result in your arrest. Oftentimes, the scammer will say that he/she requires payment via gift card or wire transfer. The scammer may also request your personal information, such as your social security number. There has been an increase in scammers attempting to contact victims via social media. ***The IRS is not going to initially contact you by phone, email, or social media. The IRS will send you a letter with a case number. A government agency will never ask for payment by gift card. As a general rule of thumb, if someone calls you and asks for payment by gift card or wire transfer, it is almost certainly a scam. Another sign of a scam is if you feel pressure to make a payment or donation immediately. Do not ever give out credit card information or personal information (Social Security Number) to an unsolicited caller. Be aware that scammers continuously change their Caller ID to make it appear that they are calling from a legitimate organization. The best place to report a scam is to the Federal Trade Commission on their website at FTC.gov/complaint. Pass this information on to a friend. You may not have gotten one of these calls, but the chances are you know someone who has.
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