The examples and perspective in this articledeal primarily with the United States and do not represent aworldwide view of the subject. You mayimprove this article, discuss the issue on thetalk page, orcreate a new article, as appropriate.(January 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Charity fraud, also known as a donation scam, is the act of usingdeception to obtain money from people who believe they are donating to acharity. Often, individuals or groups will present false information claiming to be a charity or associated with one, and then ask potential donors for contributions to this non-existent charity. Charityfraud encompasses not only fictitious charities but also deceptive business practices. These deceitful acts by businesses may involve accepting donations without using the funds for their intended purposes or soliciting funds under false pretenses of need.

• On April 20, 1918,The New York Times published an article about a charity fraud committed by the Secretary of the Cripples' Welfare Society, George W. Ryder. Ryder pleaded guilty to using mail fraud to use the donations for his personal gain.^[1]
• On November 13, 1992,The New York Times released an article about fraudulent solicitations supporting a cause. Often, beside the cash register in stores, a collection is taken for a charity or for people in need. Although there have been many store owners that legitimately donate the spare change to the specified charity, there are a few who act fraudulently. In this specific case, the small-change donations were being kept by the vendors. The article states that the vendors paid a $2 per month fee to use the charity's name.^[2]
• AfterHurricane Ian in the U.S. in 2022, the FBI Tampa Bay office warned that charity fraud scammers were at work, going door to door and making phone calls.^[3]

There are controls and laws governing charities and businesses that accept donations. TheInternal Revenue Service^[4] (IRS) has regulations that can be found on its website.

The United StatesFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provides online information about avoiding charity fraud, such as fraudulent schemes that emerge in the wake of natural disasters, claiming to be providing disaster relief. The Internet Crime Complaint Center maintains a list of guidelines^[5] to avoid charity fraud when making a donation.

To ensure transparency, legitimacy, and adherence to legal requirements, many organizations, including grantmakers, donors, and regulatory bodies, utilize compliance and verification tools to evaluate nonprofit organizations. These tools often rely on official data sources such as the IRS, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and other government registries to verify nonprofit status, tax-exempt eligibility, and potential sanction risks.

Some commonly used APIs and tools for U.S nonprofit verification and compliance include:

• GuideStar/Candid API^[6]
• IRS Business Master File^[7]
• IRS Publication 78^[8]
• Nonprofit Check Plus API^[9]
• CharityAPI.org^[6]
• Every.org^[6]

• Clothing scam companies
• Confidence trick

• Fraud
• Charity scandals

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with limited geographic scope from January 2026
• United States-centric