Charity Commission offers advice against fraud
The Charity Commission has been working with the Serious
Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) to help charities and the general
public to avoid the kind of fraud that can affect the charitable
sector.
Three areas for concern have been identified - fraudulent
websites that pass themselves off as being those of, or connected
to those of, well established charities; criminals who target
investors and persuade them to buy investments that don't exist;
and using credible methods to instruct existing donors to change
the way in which they make their donation, such as making payment
to a different bank account.
Although charity related fraud is not generally common, it can
have a big impact, both financially and in terms of the public's
trust, when it does occur and so charities are advised to take
relevant precautions and be vigilant.
The following advice has been offered to charities and
donors:
- Donors making online donations should be wary of using new
methods to update their personal information, and of website
addresses that look unfamiliar. Fake addresses are more likely to
be excessively long, and may not even include the name of the
charity that donors believe they are donating to. If donors have
any doubts, they should copy the address and send it to the charity
to check whether it is correct or not. Suspicions of fraudulent
websites can be reported to ISPs.
- Charities who suspect that their website is being targeted by
fraudsters should contact the relevant ISP, as well as the Charity
Commission and the police.
- To help prevent fraud, charities that receive electronic
payments are advised to restrict access to account information on a
need to know basis. Thorough background checks should be carried
out on new staff, and financial information needs to be managed in
accordance with current data protection legislation.
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