With the holidays and the end of the year quickly approaching, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes wants to remind consumers to be wary of scam artists when donating to charities. Often times, scam artists will use names that sound very similar to well-known, trusted charities or pull at the heart strings of donors over a tragedy to lure consumers into donating to fake charities. Organizations receiving donations can also become victims of charity scams.  A typical scam to an organization involves fraudulent donors sending counterfeit checks only to follow up with a request to return a portion of the funds before the organization knows the funds are bogus.
“While I applaud Arizonans willing to donate to charities at this time of the year, it is important to remember that there are scammers trying to take advantage of your good will,” says Attorney General Kris Mayes. “Taking a few precautions on the front end can ensure that donations serve a charitable good, instead of lining the pockets of scammers.”