Scam donation checks purporting to be from the entertainment company Harrah’s have been sent to a handful of charities in what appears to be an attempt to defraud the organizations of money.
The fake $100,000 checks look like corporate donations, but they are instead a ploy to get the charities to send money to the scammer. In similar frauds, the scammer contacts the charity to say that he or she did not intend to write the check for the full amount and asks for a portion of it back.
Several of the charities that received fake checks also received e-mails in April notifying them that they would soon be sent a check for $50,000, but none so far have heard from the scammer since receiving the checks.
Gary Thompson, a spokesman for Harrah’s, said the company has contacted the FBI and Secret Service about the checks. The FBI advises charities that receive the checks to notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
“It’s despicable that some crook has seen fit to try to defraud charities that are trying to help people in need,” said Mr. Thompson.
At least five nonprofit groups have received the fake checks, including the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, in Fairfax, Va., Give Kids the World, in Kissimmee, Fl., and GlobalGiving, in Washington.
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Comments
1. joannproudian - July 23, 2010 at 03:16 pm
Want to give you a heads up on this. Probably won't happen to us, but worth knowing about.
2. jenniferschooley - July 24, 2010 at 02:04 pm
Any idea who is behind this?
It reminds me of a call I received about two weeks ago. Initially, it started out that the caller wanted to make a donation to our organization and then it launched into how we could sign up for this service and its clients could make donations to us if we were on this list, etc. etc.
I immediately smelled scam a few minutes in, but she kept me on the phone for more then ten minutes until I finally found my out by indicating that I needed to get back to work. She immediately disconnected as soon said that. Ugh.
3. dan_barker - July 26, 2010 at 05:33 pm
The Freedom From Religion Foundation also received a check like that, a few months ago, $100,000. We were all excited, but the very same morning I got an email from the "company" telling us it was a mistake, asking us to return $50,000. I then knew it was a scam, but played along while we contacted authorities. The postmark was from New Mexico. I don't think we have heard anything about our complaint. Do we know of anyone who has actually been swindled? (Well, they probably would not admit it.)