Arlington, VA – February 1, 2016 – BBB Wise Giving Alliance (BBB WGA) is warning charities nationwide to be on the alert
for a
fake-check overpayment scam. An individual using the name “Kenneth McFarlane” initially sends charities
emails expressing interest, then sends a 5-figure donation, via overnight mail, using a fake check. Next, he immediately
informs the charity a mistake has been made and asks them to return $10,000 to cover a medical emergency for a child.
If the charity follows through, they lose the $10,000 before knowing the original check was fake. For more
information, see the following release produced by the Better Business Bureau Serving Central Virginia, based in
Richmond, which brought this to the attention of BBB WGA.
http://www.bbb.org/richmond/news-events/news-releases/20162/01/bogus-donation-scam-targeting-local-nonprofits/
ABOUT BBB WISE GIVING ALLIANCE:
BBB Wise Giving Alliance (BBB WGA) is a standards-based charity evaluator that seeks to verify the trustworthiness
of nationally-soliciting charities by completing rigorous evaluations based on 20 holistic standards that address
charity governance, results reporting, finances, fundraising, appeal accuracy and other issues. National charity
reports are produced by the BBB WGA and local charity reports are produced by local Better Business Bureaus – all
reports are available at
Give.org.
