Donation requests after a disaster

Real appeals and fake ones show up together after a disaster, with the same photos and the same news. You don’t have to tell them apart. Pick the charity yourself. A real charity will still take your donation tomorrow.

If it’s happening now

Someone is calling for a donation. Say you don’t give over the phone, write down the charity’s exact name, and hang up. Charities and their paid fundraisers are allowed to call even if you’re on the Do Not Call list. To stop the calls, ask to be put on that charity’s own do-not-call list.

A text, email, or post you didn’t ask for wants you to give through a link. Don’t tap it. If you want to help that cause, look the group up yourself and give on its site.

A friend shared a fundraiser. Ask them separately, by phone or a new message, whether they know the person who set it up.

They’ll only take gift cards, a wire, crypto, cash, or a payment app. Stop there. Real charities take a credit card or a check.

They thank you for a pledge you don’t remember. You don’t owe it. Hang up, or ignore the letter. The FTC says callers and mailers may lie about past pledges.

They say a donation guarantees you a prize. That’s a scam. You won’t win anything.

What to say

• I don't give over the phone. What's the charity's exact name? I'll look it up and give on its website.

• I don't remember pledging anything. Please put me on your do-not-call list.

• Do you know the person who set up that fundraiser, or the family? I'd like to help, but I want to know who's getting the money.

• I gave to what turned out to be a fake charity. I'd like the charge refunded, a new card, and a case number.

• I sent this payment to a fake charity. Can you try to recall it? If you can't, I'd like that decision in writing.

If something already left your hands

On GoFundMe. Do this before you call your card company: GoFundMe won’t refund a donation you’ve disputed with your card. On its Giving Guarantee page, choose “Submit a claim as a donor.” It covers donations for a year, and the refund goes back to the card or account you paid with. Then use “Report fundraiser” on the fundraiser page.

Credit or debit card, anywhere but GoFundMe. Call the number on the back of the card. Say you gave to a fake charity, ask them to refund the charge, and ask for a new card: whoever you gave it to has the number. Watch your next statements for a monthly donation you didn’t mean to set up. I paid with a credit or debit card.

Zelle, a payment app, a wire, gift cards, or crypto. Call the bank, app, or company now, at the number on your card or inside the app. Ask them to reverse or recall it, and get a case number. You sent it yourself, so they may call it authorized and say no. Ask for that decision in writing. If it’s no, file a complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Sent a wire or crypto? File at ic3.gov at the same time as you call. Steps for each: I paid or sent money.

A check. Call your bank and ask whether it can stop payment before the check is cashed.

Your card number, bank login, or Social Security number. I gave out a code, password, or card number.

Then save and report it. Screenshot the fundraiser, the post or messages, and your receipt. Fake pages get taken down. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, at ic3.gov if it happened online, and to your state charity office, with the name they used, the phone number, and the website. Report a fake fundraiser or post to the site it’s on, too.

If someone then offers to get your donation back for a fee, that’s a second scam. Someone offers to get my money back.

What it looks like

The morning after the flood, your friend Dana shares this on Facebook: "Heartbreaking. Please give if you can."

gofundme.com/f/reyes-family-alder-creek-flood-rebuild

GoFundMe

Help the Reyes family rebuild after the flood

$18,240 raised of $25,000 · 312 donations

Jess Marlowe is organizing this fundraiser.

The Reyes family lost their home and both cars when the creek came up Friday night. Maria and her three kids got out with the clothes they had on. Every dollar goes straight to the family for a place to stay, clothes, and school supplies. Please share.

Organizer: Jess Marlowe · Alder Creek, TX

Dana shared it, and 312 people have already given. What do you do?

• Give. A friend shared it and hundreds of people trust it
• Ask Dana, in a separate message, whether she knows Jess or the family
• Message Jess through GoFundMe and ask for proof

Show the answers

• Wrong move Give. A friend shared it and hundreds of people trust it Dana may not know Jess or the family, and neither may the 312 donors. Scammers copy real families' stories and photos.
• Best move Ask Dana, in a separate message, whether she knows Jess or the family This page has no "on behalf of" line, so the money goes to Jess, and nothing here says how she knows the Reyeses. If Dana knows them, give. If she doesn't, give to a relief group you look up yourself, or to a fundraiser on GoFundMe's verified page for that disaster, if it has one.
• Okay Message Jess through GoFundMe and ask for proof GoFundMe suggests contacting the organizer, and a real one will answer. So will a fake one, with more borrowed photos. Someone you know who knows the family is better proof.

On GoFundMe and sites like it, the money goes to whoever set it up unless the page names someone else as the recipient. Before you give, find out through someone you know how the organizer is connected to the family.

You typed gulfcoastfamilyrelief.org in yourself. Its Donate page said to text FLOOD to (361) 555-0118, so you did.

(361) 555-0118

Text Message
Today 10:02 AM

FLOOD

Gulf Coast Family Relief: Thank you for standing with flood survivors. Finish your gift here: gulfcoastfamilyrelief.org/give/flood
Msg&data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel.

It's a text with a link. What do you do?

• Tap it, check the address matches the site you typed in, and give there
• Delete it. Links in texts are scams
• Search "Gulf Coast Family Relief donate" and use the top result

Show the answers

• Best move Tap it, check the address matches the site you typed in, and give there You started this, with a number from the charity's own site, and the link goes back to that site. The Red Cross works the same way: it stopped putting text donations on phone bills in 2024 and texts back a link to its donation form.
• Okay Delete it. Links in texts are scams Safe, and you can still give on the site you typed in. But this is the text you asked for.
• Wrong move Search "Gulf Coast Family Relief donate" and use the top result The top result can be an ad, and scammers buy ads with look-alike names. You already have the real site: the one you typed in.

What matters is who started it. A text you asked for, from a number on the charity's own site, is fine to finish if the link goes back to that site. A donation text you didn't ask for: don't use its link or its number.

7:40 p.m. Caller ID shows a name you half recognize.

FIREFIGHTER FND (830) 555-0163

Incoming call · 7:40 PM

1. Caller Hi, is this Pat? This is Kevin with the State Firefighters Family Fund. First, thank you for your pledge last year.
2. You I don't remember pledging.
3. Caller It's right here in our records. A lot of folks forget. With the fires this month, we're asking everyone who pledged to renew tonight. Families have lost everything.
4. Caller Can I put you down for the same $75? I can take a card right now, and we'll mail your receipt.

Caller ID shows the fund's name, and he knows yours. What do you do?

• Give him a credit card number. You can dispute it if it's fake
• Say you don't give over the phone, write down the name, and look it up yourself
• Ask how much of your $75 reaches the families, then decide

Show the answers

• Wrong move Give him a credit card number. You can dispute it if it's fake The FTC warns that a caller may lie about a pledge you don't remember. Caller ID can be made to show any name. A dispute takes weeks, and he'd still have your card number.
• Best move Say you don't give over the phone, write down the name, and look it up yourself Caller ID and your name prove nothing. The FTC says a caller like this is most likely a paid fundraiser, not the charity. Looking it up costs a real fund nothing. Give on its own site if it checks out.
• Okay Ask how much of your $75 reaches the families, then decide A good question, and the FTC suggests asking it. Then check the answer with the charity directly. You can't check it on this call.

On the phone, a real fundraiser and a fake one sound the same. Get the exact name, hang up, and give on the charity's own site.

What they’ll ask for

“Thank you for last year’s pledge. Can we count on you again? I can take your card right now.” You don’t owe a pledge you didn’t make. Hang up, and give on the charity’s own site if it checks out.

“Send it to our coordinator by Zelle or Cash App.” “Gift cards or Bitcoin are fastest right now.” Don’t. A charity that won’t take a credit card or a check is likely a scam.

“We’re collecting for the firefighters.” Plenty of groups say that. Get the exact name and look up that one. Ask whether it’s a charity or a political action committee (PAC). Gifts to a PAC aren’t tax-deductible, and it can spend the money differently than a charity would.

“Here’s our tax ID number.” A real number can belong to the real charity they’re pretending to be. Give through the charity’s own site.

Check it before you give

1. Pick the group yourself. Start with one you already know does disaster work, or search the cause (“flood relief”) with “highly rated charity.” Skip results marked “Sponsored.” Then search its name with “complaint” or “scam.”
2. Read its report. Look it up on Give.org or CharityWatch, the two the FTC names. If it fails Give.org’s standards or gets a low CharityWatch grade, pick another. Small local groups often aren’t rated; that alone isn’t a warning.
3. Confirm it’s registered. The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search shows whether donations to it are tax-deductible. Search its official name, which can differ from the one it uses day to day. Churches may not be listed. Your state’s charity office, listed at nasconet.org, can tell you whether the charity and its paid fundraisers are registered.
4. Give on its own site. Type the address in yourself. Pay by credit card or check. Leave “make this monthly” unchecked unless you mean it.

A listing proves the charity exists, not that the person asking works for it. Scammers borrow real charities’ names and use web addresses that are slightly off.

Personal fundraisers (GoFundMe and similar) aren’t charities and won’t show up in any of these. Give when you, or someone you know, knows the organizer or the family. The money goes to the organizer, who may have no tie to the family in the story. The exception on GoFundMe: if a page says “Jess is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Maria Reyes,” the money goes straight to Maria’s bank account. To find fundraisers GoFundMe has verified for specific disasters, open its Donate menu and choose Crisis relief. Donations to individuals aren’t tax-deductible.

Giving by text is real. Get the number from the charity’s own website, not from a text, a post, or an ad.

If it’s a prize, not a donation

Real prizes are free. If you have to pay “taxes,” shipping, or a processing fee to collect, it’s a scam. Same if they want your bank account or Social Security number to send it, or say paying will raise your odds. If you paid: I paid or sent money.

What not to waste time on

The National Center for Disaster Fraud. It closed on March 31, 2026, and older articles still list its hotline. Report to the FTC and your state charity office instead.