Over the past few months, several scam accounts have popped up that call themselves #resistance. Some ask for #donations to help impeach Trump. Some sell shirts, phone cases, etc. And there are others that ask for money for various causes. THREAD 1 #scam #donate #con #PSA

I’ve written about some before, I have a collection of threads about them here. 2
twitter.com/i/moments/9501… #fraud #con #ripoff #cheat

You can verify a charity’s non-profit status before donating. Donations to non-profits are always TAX DEDUCTIBLE, so get a receipt! 3

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If a fundraiser isn’t a non-profit, ask some questions. First – what are they raising money for? Are there non-profits for the same cause? If so, donate to the non-profit. They are held accountable for how their $ is spent. 5 #protip charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=…

#FundraisingFraud is not uncommon, according to the Better Business Bureau. Online communities like #TheResistance are especially vulnerable to this since we feel like we know people we haven’t met. 6 #fraud #onlinescam youcaring.com/blog/2013/how-…

Crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, YouCaring, Kickstarter, etc. do almost no screening for their fundraising campaigns. Many are for people who need financial help due to hardship or illness. It’s hard to verify if you don’t know the person. 7 coamidtn.org/september-scam…

This scam has fooled many in #TheResistance. It’s tough - nobody wants to think that someone would lie about having a serious illness. @RachelAzzara 8 #hepzi #grifter #catfish #FridayFeeling medium.com/@RachelAzzara/…

THE most important questions to ask are about #money – what is the money for? How will it be spent? How can people who donate see where the money has gone and get updates? Who is responsible for handling the money? 9 #accountability #transparency #finances

If it’s someone selling merchandise that says a portion of the proceeds will go to charity, a non-profit or resistance related causes, ask for details – when? How? Which causes? By check? How frequently? How will customers know? 10 #smartquestions #question #proof #receipts

A legitimate business who isn’t hiding anything will be ready, able and willing to answer these questions. If they get defensive, don’t answer or avoid the question, that’s a HUGE red flag! DON’T buy from them! 11

There are even people who ask for donations to “start up” non-profits. Evaluate which services the non-profit will provide – do others already fill that need? How much is the person asking for? What does it actually cost to apply for non-profit status? 12 #fishy #suspicious

For example, here is pricing for LegalZoom’s non-profit creation service packages, which range from $99 to $359. The most expensive one comes to $519, including NC filing fees. 13 legalzoom.com/business/busin… #NCResists

Here’s another quote for starting a non-profit in North Carolina. Bizfilings is a reputable company, the non-profit 501c3 I volunteer for uses them to file our tax statement. Their most expensive option comes to $511. 14 #factsmatter secure.bizfilings.com/PackageSelect.…

It took 10 minutes of Googling to get an idea of what it costs to file for non-profit status in a random state. So if you see someone asking for several thousand dollars to start a non-profit, ask why they need so much and exactly what costs they have. 15 #research

An attorney friend got some quotes for me, and even if you had an attorney handle filing for non-profit status, it would still be below, say, $5,000. So do your research. Ask specific questions and insist on thorough answers. 16 #allaboutthemoney

Anyone asking for money to start a non-profit or for a “good cause” that isn’t a non-profit needs to be completely transparent about expenses. Non-profits already meet that standard, so individuals should too. Trust is earned with 17 #transparency.

To act in good faith, one should file for non-profit status FIRST. Once they have their non profit status and an EIN # from the IRS, then they can ask for donations as a non-profit organization. Especially since it’s not that expensive to file for non-profit status. 18

Non-profits are held accountable by law. Fundraising that isn’t for non-profits isn’t bound by those laws, so the people fundraising can do whatever they want with that money. Even disappear with it. 19
501c3.org/misappropriati…

On GoFundMe specifically, if the person the money is going to isn’t Facebook Verified, don’t donate to them. Google their name and state to see if they are even a real person, or using a real name. GoFundMe doesn’t require that. 20 pages.gofundme.com/verification/

I wrote this because I’ve seen a lot of questionable accounts trying to profit from #TheResistance and I think that’s wrong. Resistors are hard working people and I don’t want anyone getting conned out of their money. 21 #TheMoreYouKnow

Also great advice here!

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