AG warns of potential donation scam

by Nick Delgado

Guam - The Attorney General's office is warning the community of possible donation scams that may surface from the recent mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. AG Leonardo Rapadas states residents should always use caution when choosing a charitable organization.

He provides these tips:

• Reputable organizations do not usually solicit donations from individual consumers via email and often times, unsolicited email messages asking for charitable contributions are fraudulent.
• Beware of organizations that use meaningless terms to suggest they are tax-exempt charities; not every not-for-profit organization needs a tax identification number.
• Be extremely wary of phone calls from people asking to donate to the cause, often times they want personal and bank account information to either utilize your personal information for another scam or empty your bank account.

He adds the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance is tasked with coordinating monetary donations for the victims of the tragedy. The shooting left 12 people dead and 58 wounded.