A call comes in from a group with a warm, familiar name. The caller sounds sure of the cause and wants an answer today. Before you give, it helps to check that the group is real. A name alone proves nothing, and a few public records can fill in the rest.

Close view of hands turning over paper documents on a wooden kitchen table in daylight while a mug sits nearby.
Taking time with the paperwork before a charitable gift helps confirm the group is real.

Start with the name problem

Scammers do not need to invent a charity. They can borrow the name of one you already know. The Federal Trade Commission warns that scammers impersonate well-known charities. That means a trusted name on caller ID, in an email, or on a flyer is not evidence of anything.

So treat the first contact as a lead, not a credential. Write down the exact name the caller gives. Then look the group up yourself, using a website or phone number you found on your own. Do not use the number, link, or contact card the solicitor offers. That one habit cuts the caller out of the process, which is the point.

Watch for the sweepstakes pitch

One pattern stands out in the FTC's guidance. Someone calls and says you won a prize in a charity-sponsored sweepstakes. The reason given is that you donated to that charity before. The FTC says a call like this, from someone claiming to be with a charity you support, may be a scam. It also notes that scammers may use a real charity's name to make the fake prize seem legitimate.

The same alert appears in two places on the FTC's consumer site, in its pages on giving to charity and donating to charity. The alert carries a date on those pages, so check it there. The excerpts available do not spell out the agency's full advice for this scam, so read the pages themselves if you want the details.

The practical takeaway is simple. A real charity thanking you for a past gift is one thing. A surprise prize tied to that gift is a reason to hang up and verify. Use the name you wrote down and the contact details you found yourself.

Look up tax-exempt status with the IRS

The Internal Revenue Service runs a page where you can search for tax-exempt organizations. It is a sensible early stop. If a group says it is a tax-exempt charity, this is the federal place to look for it.

The material available does not say exactly what the search returns or how to read the results. So do not expect it to settle everything. Use it as one check among several. If you cannot find the group, ask the solicitor for the organization's full legal name and look again. A mismatch between the name you were given and the name on record is worth noting.

The same caution applies to taxes. The sources reviewed here do not explain how to confirm that a gift is tax deductible or what paperwork to request. If a deduction matters to you, ask a tax professional before you give.

Call your state charity office

Charities are also overseen by the states. The National Association of State Charity Officials, or NASCO, describes itself as an association of state offices that regulate and oversee charitable organizations and charitable solicitation. Those offices include attorneys general and secretaries of state, among others.

NASCO says registration and filing requirements for charities differ from state to state. That is why a local call is useful. Its state government directory lists the agencies that handle charity oversight, with phone numbers and email addresses for each state office. The directory includes offices such as:

  • The Arizona Attorney General's Charity Scams contact
  • The Colorado Secretary of State's Charities Program
  • The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection's Public Charities Unit
  • The Illinois Attorney General's Charitable Trusts Bureau
  • The Hawaii Attorney General's Tax & Charities Division

Find your own state in the directory and contact that office. Ask what it can tell you about the group that contacted you. Each state's registration rules are not laid out in the sources, so the office itself is the best place to ask. If you think you have met a scam, that same office is a reasonable first call, though the sources do not say how reports are handled. NASCO also says it does not provide legal advice and encourages people to consult their own legal counsel.

Stay on official sites and slow down

Once you start checking, you may be asked to enter details online. The FTC advises making sure you are on an official .gov site before sharing sensitive information. Look at the address bar before you type anything.

Independent nonprofit databases exist too, and they let you search by name, keyword, state, and other filters. The sources do not explain how to read the financial figures in those listings. If you use one, treat it as background and not as a verdict.

There is no single step that proves a charity is legitimate. The sources reviewed here do not give a full checklist either. What they do support is a pattern. Do not trust the name. Do not use the contact details the solicitor gives you. Check federal and state records on your own. And if a prize is part of the pitch, be suspicious. Giving can wait a day while you look.

Please seek a professional. This article is general information, not financial, tax or insurance advice. Please seek a licensed financial, tax or insurance professional about your own situation.