10 Dec 2025

Five common charity scams and how to spot them

Find out how to avoid donating to a scammer

Tali writes about scams and consumer rights for Which? delving into fraud, technology and consumer rights topics to keep readers safe and empowered.

If you're considering donating to a charitable cause, you should know the signs of a fake fundraiser and how to donate safely.

Christmas is a popular time of year for charitable fundraising. Sadly, scammers know this and will take advantage of people's goodwill.

Below, we explain the most common types of charity scams we see at this time of year.

1. Fake fundraisers

Scammers will use legitimate fundraising platforms to con you. While the platform may not be fraudulent, the fundraiser asking you for money could be.

These types of scams will typically feature fake stories about emergency causes, such as natural disasters or personal tragedies, to convince you to 'donate' in good faith.

Fraudsters have also been known to infiltrate Facebook groups dedicated to fundraising in order to promote their fake causes. We've previously warned about these types of scams, as they can seem incredibly convincing. A scammer will join groups dedicated to a specific cause to target those in the group, they may ask for donations or impersonate the charity.

The Suffolk Tractor Light Parade, which fundraises for charity, was targeted by scammers in this way. Fraudsters created a convincing social media profile to contact people on the official event page. Luckily, the organisers were quick to shut down the comments and prevent further damage.

While these fundraising events often take place offline, they typically use social platforms to promote and raise money for them. Sadly, this is all too helpful to an opportunistic scammer.

2. Emergency appeals

Which? has previously reported on scam social media accounts asking for donations for victims of the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake.

In the wake of disasters, fraudsters create accounts on social media stating that they're collecting money for victims, with some asking for donations via cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or even using PayPal.

Which? found one fundraising group asking for donations to a bank account overseas, which had no guarantee that the money would reach those affected by the disaster. We also discovered pages, posts and videos on Facebook, TikTok and X that seemed to be promoting misleading or false information about the crisis and asking for money.

3. Doorstep scams

Unexpected knocks on your door aren’t always dodgy, as charities do genuinely fundraise in this way. However, scammers can take advantage of this to peddle their fraudulent schemes.

They’ll attempt to talk you into donating with a convincing story about a charitable cause and might even be pushy to get you to part with your cash.

This may be intimidating, but you have the right to say you’re not interested. If they persist or you feel threatened in any way, you should call the police.

4. Scam ads

Scammers will use ads on social media and other websites to promote their scams. Fraudsters sometimes impersonate legitimate charities in ads, but the links to donate will lead to a malicious website.

After following the link, you’ll typically be encouraged to enter your personal and financial details under the guise of donating to a cause.

5. Cold calls

Unexpected calls from what you think are charities are could be made by criminals. These calls could be an attempt to get you to reveal your financial details, often under the guise of making a donation.

Recently, Arthritis UK warned of scam cold calls claiming to be from the organisation. The scam callers told recipients that they were eligible for help with the completion of benefits forms in return for a fee.

Spot and report charity scams

To ensure you're donating safely to any charitable cause, you should:

Be wary of fundraising posts on social media which include links but don’t disclose the charity name. If you are considering donating, it would be prudent to search the images the cause is using to see if they have been used elsewhere - a tool like Tineye or a reverse image search on Google can help with this.
Ignore unsolicited phone calls or emails asking for donations. Charities are commonly impersonated in phishing emails. Check out the organisation and donate directly through its official website.
Ask doorstep fundraisers for their ID and look up the charity on the ID. You can call the charity to check if the fundraiser is genuine. You should be suspicious of any fundraiser that doesn't feel comfortable with you doing this.
Ignore ads from charities on social media which aren’t posted from verified accounts - these are accounts with a blue tick next to them.
Check that the charity is signed up to the Fundraising Regulator’s Directory, which lists charities that have committed to good fundraising practices.
Check the charity register. UK-based charities can be verified, and you can search using the charity’s name and registration number. You can also search the OSCR for Scottish charities or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.
Ignore fundraising initiatives that don’t say where their donations go.

If you lose any money to a scam, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your bank card and report it to Report Fraud (formerly known as Action Fraud), or call the police on 101 if you’re in Scotland.