The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has issued a warning over an alleged State Emergency Services charity scam.
In an appalling display, reports have been flooding in of scammers attempting to collect donations on behalf of the SES. These scammers are callings houses in New South Wales and asking residents to donate to those affected by the New South Wales storms. These persons, who claim to be representatives of the SES, have been collecting donations, credit card numbers and personal details off those who are charitable enough to donate.
“Australians are renowned for their generosity, donating billions of dollars to charity every year,” ACNC Commissioner, Susan Pascoe AMPascoe said, “It is shocking that there are scammers out there prepared to take advantage of the public’s generous nature.”
The ACNC has now issued a warning to residents who may receive this call, to be wary. If you receive this call, or calls like it, please follow the following steps to ensure that your donation is being received correctly.
The ACNC encourages the public to take the following steps to ensure they are giving to legitimate charities:
If you haven’t heard of an organisation that has called you, search for them on the Charity Register at acnc.gov.au/findacharity to check that they are registered.
If you receive a call from someone claiming to represent a charity, call them back by searching for the charity on the Charity Register and use the phone number the ACNC has published.
Do not provide your personal, credit card or online bank account details over the phone.
Always ask for identification from door to door and street fundraising collectors.
Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails – delete them.
If you think that there is something wrong, contact the charity directly and alert them of your concerns. You can also contact the ACNC on 13 ACNC (13 22 62).
To search the Charity Register, visit acnc.gov.au/findacharity
