BBB Serving Central Indiana
151 N. Delaware Street, Ste. 2020
Indianapolis, IN 46204
bbb.org/indy/
 
Contact: Ty Gerig
Sease, Gerig & Associates
tgerig@seasegerig.com
 
 

For Immediate Release: November 6, 2014

November Hot Topics:

  1. Prepare for Charitable Giving Season with Tips for Giving Wisely
  2. How Does a Fake Check Scheme Work? BBB® Offers These Tips

 (See BBB tips below for these Hot Topics)


Prepare for Charitable Giving Season with Tips for Giving Wisely

The end of the year has become a popular time for charities to solicit donations because of the tax advantages to individual donors. BBB® urges donors to check charities out before they give. BBB Wise Giving Alliance offers these Basic Giving Tips:

  1. Get the charity’s exact name. With so many charities in existence, mistaken identity is a common problem. Thousands of charities have “cancer” in their name, for example, but no connection with one another.
  2. Resist pressure to give on the spot, whether from a telemarketer or door-to-door solicitor.
  3. Be wary of heart-wrenching appeals. What matters is what the charity is doing to help.
  4. Press for specifics. If the charity says it’s helping the homeless, for example, ask how and where it’s working.
  5. Check websites for basics. A charity’s mission, program and finances should be available on its site. If not, check for a report at www.give.org.
  6. Check with state charity officials. In many states, charities are required to register, usually with the office of the attorney general, before soliciting. Click http://www.nasconet.org/documents/u-s-charity-offices/ for the relevant office in our state.
  7. Don’t assume that every soliciting organization is tax exempt as a charity. You can readily check an organization’s tax status at www.irs.gov/app/eos.

A charity that can use your money today will welcome it just as much tomorrow. Watch out for appeals that bring tears to your eyes, but tell you nothing about how your donation will be used. Write a check to the charity, not an individual. Never give your credit card number or other personal information in response to unsolicited donation requests. Before making online donations, determine whether the charity’s website is secure and that it has a privacy policy concerning the use of your name, email address or other personal facts. Secure sites’ addresses begin with https://.

If you have a question about a charity or want to find an Accredited Charity you can trust, visit BBB’s website at: bbb.org/indy/


How Does a Fake Check Scheme Work? BBB® Offers These Tips

How does a fake check scheme work? A fake check scheme occurs when a schemer sends a fake check that looks real to the consumer and at first the bank, and the consumer cashes the check causing implications for the consumer. The consumer can receive a check in such instances as a bogus mystery shopper offer or job scheme. A mystery shopper scheme occurs when a consumer signs up to be a mystery shopper and after signing up they obtain a check to supposedly cover the expenses of the “shopping” and for their services, but sometimes a task is to wire money to a third party. A job scheme occurs when someone applies for a job and receives a check in the mail to deposit for supplies and part of that needs to be wired back to the company for “expenses.” The consumer thinks the offer and check are legitimate so they deposit/cash the check into their own bank account and send a considerable amount of money back to the company that produced the check (which is the schemer). In reality, the check was fake and within days of the fake check being cashed, the bank will begin the process of reclaiming those funds forwarded to the consumer who cashed the check.

This is a scheme because when the consumer deposits the counterfeit check into a bank account and a day or so later they find out that the money is available. The consumer then assumes the money is safe to withdraw, when reality it is not. Until the financial institution can confirm the funds have been “finally collected” the consumer is responsible for any funds that are withdrawn against that check deposit. The amount of time that it takes for the financial institution to identify a check as finally collected can vary.

With the production of high-quality printers and scanners, it is making it easier for schemers to create official-looking checks. BBB® offers tips to avoid fake check schemes:

  1. Be wary of checks received from unknown individuals: When selling to someone you don’t know, it is safer to accept cash or credit card payments.
  2. Do not accept overpayments: Don’t take checks for more than the sales price, no matter what the buyer tells you.
  3. Do not wire money to anyone you do not know: Wired money is extremely difficult to trace, and you will not be able to recover these funds. The same goes for pre-paid debit cards.

If you have a question about a company or want to find an Accredited Business you can trust, visit BBB’s website at: bbb.org/indy/


To schedule an interview or for more information, please contact to Ty Gerig at: tgerig@seasegerig.com.