Making a charitable donation to help those in need is a generous decision. However, if you have been affected by an online scammer impersonating a real or fake charitable organization, they may have stolen your money and your personal information.
If you think you or someone you know has experienced a charity imposter scam, we recommend that you act immediately, by following our guidelines below, and then proceed to our Report, Recover, and Reinforce sections for further assistance.
Visit the CSN blog to learn more about charity scam red flags.
Click Here to Report Your Incident to the FBI IC3
Reporting cybercrime incidents to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) via the link above is very important! The more national reporting data that is collected, the better the chance law enforcement has to catch the criminals and decrease online crime. Although the FBI does not resolve individual complaints directly, they will make your report available to local, state and other law enforcement partners. FAQs about IC3 reporting can be found here. Please read the FBI/IC3 privacy policy here. (If you believe that you’ve received a phishing email, please forward the email directly to reportphishing@apwg.org.)
These resources have been gathered, selected and vetted to help simplify the process of recovering after a cybercrime incident has taken place. You may need to contact organizations outside FightCybercrime.org. Results will vary depending on your circumstances.
Once you have notified the appropriate organizations and you are on the road to recovery, it is time to reinforce your cybersecurity, using these resources and tools.
FTC: How to Donate Wisely