Charity / Donation Scams

Fraudsters attempted a fake president scam targeting a Luxembourg bailiff's office, impersonating a French lawyer and manager to pressure an accountant into transferring a five-figure sum for a supposed company acquisition. The scheme involved fake emails from spoofed accounts and escalating phone calls designed to bypass internal safeguards, but staff became suspicious of the aggressive tactics and halted the transfer. This incident reflects a broader pattern of such scams in Luxembourg, following the high-profile €60 million Caritas charity fraud.

Social media scams exploit trusted platforms and personal details shared online to deceive users into sending money, revealing personal information, or downloading malware, with older adults facing heightened risk due to unfamiliarity with newer tactics and accumulated savings. Common scams include impersonation schemes like the "grandparent scam," where fraudsters pose as family members in distress requesting urgent money, and fake product offers within trusted community groups. Users can protect themselves by creating strong, unique passwords, being cautious about what personal details they share online, and verifying requests through independent contact with known family members or organizations.

A 64-year-old Pennsylvania man lost $42,700 in March 2026 to a scammer impersonating WWE star Rhea Ripley, with few details available about how contact was made or the victim's persuasion. This incident is part of a broader pattern of celebrity impersonation scams targeting older adults, including a 2024 case where a 74-year-old lost nearly $1 million to someone posing as WWE star Alexa Bliss. No arrests have been made, and the victim has refused to cooperate with police investigating the fraud.

Ogechi Urenna Udunka of Decatur, Georgia was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in laundering $158,000 stolen through a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam targeting an agricultural company. The scam occurred when criminals sent fraudulent emails impersonating an Oregon seed company, tricking the victim into wiring funds that Udunka then received and disbursed to conceal their origin. Udunka was ordered to pay full restitution and perform 200 hours of community service.

The Better Business Bureau reports that over $68 billion was lost to financial fraud in the past year, with more than half of Americans encountering scams daily and over 433,000 scam reports tracked since 2022. The BBB's International Investigations Initiative analyzed these reports using artificial intelligence to identify patterns and tools used by scammers across North America, publishing findings in a study called "Blueprint of a scam" to highlight how lax regulations enable fraud and suggest ways to strengthen consumer protections.

A Government Accountability Office report found that disaster assistance scams targeting millions of people affected by hurricanes, floods, and wildfires represent a significant but largely unmeasured threat, with the true prevalence and financial impact unknown due to widespread underreporting and data limitations. Victims often fail to report scams due to shame, lack of awareness about reporting procedures, or belief that reporting won't help, while federal enforcement is hampered by resource constraints and the sophistication of international scam operations. Federal agencies rely primarily on consumer education and awareness campaigns at disaster recovery centers and through online channels to prevent victimization, as reliable estimates of losses remain impossible to calculate.

Scammers exploit natural disasters and emergencies by creating fake charities or impersonating legitimate relief organizations to steal donations intended for victims of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other disasters. Donors can protect themselves by verifying charities through the FTC before contributing and should report suspected charity scams to the FTC's fraud reporting website.

Over 201,000 Americans age 60 and older lost approximately $7.7 billion to cyber-enabled crimes in 2025, with an average loss of $38,000 per victim and military retirees accounting for over half a billion dollars in fraud losses. Scammers increasingly target older adults through impostor schemes, romance fraud, and tech-support scams, exploiting vulnerabilities including loneliness, financial assets, unfamiliarity with technology, and cognitive decline, with artificial intelligence tools making these scams more sophisticated and effective. The FBI reported a 37% spike in complaints from 2024 to 2025, though experts believe actual losses are significantly higher due to underre

A data breach at Beacon CRM compromised personal information of donors and volunteers from over six Christian charities, including names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and donation records. The breach is particularly concerning because scammers can now target high-value donors with tailored fraud schemes after purchasing the stolen data on the dark web. Fraud experts advise affected individuals to remain vigilant against targeted scams and to verify contact from banks or authorities by independently calling official numbers rather than using contact information provided by callers.

A Washington man received a 30-month federal prison sentence for stealing a Vietnam veteran's identity to fraudulently obtain VA benefits over decades, while a New Hampshire man was indicted for defrauding an older veteran of $225,000 through bank and mail fraud. According to the FTC, fraud reports from servicemembers, veterans, and their families totaled approximately $584 million in 2024, with scammers exploiting veterans' trust in VA institutions and their predictable benefit payments through schemes including disability benefit fraud, VA home loan scams, and job scams.