What is an Online Scam?
An online scam is a fraudulent activity carried out over the Internet by providing incorrect information for the purpose of stealing money or assets from victims. Online scams are one of the biggest threats to businesses and governments around the world as they end up with severe financial losses and mental and emotional harassment of victims.
According to the Consumer Sentinel Network, which is maintained by the Federal Trade Commission of the United States Government, there were 535,000 imposter scams and 167,000 identify theft cases reported, leading to a loss of more than $1.4 billion in 2018. These figures have only increased to $406 million over what was reported in 2017.
While every sector, business and industry have been affected by an online scam, the Sentinel Network calculated the highest media individual losses found to be present in three categories in 2018. These categories are Mortgage Foreclosure Relief and Debt Management, Business and Job Opportunities and Foreign Money Offers and Counterfeit Check Scams.
The ‘Foreign Money Offers‘ category is one of the top three categories that fraudsters use to lure NGOs (and individuals), especially in developing countries, giving them hope of receiving grants against payment of small sums of money.
*Source: Consumer Sentinel Network, Trade Commission, February 2019
While there is some data available about charitable solicitations (where fake charities seek donations online from individuals around the world), the data for NGOs victimized by fraud grant offers is conspicuously missing.
But it is also true that a vast number of small and struggling NGOs especially across Africa, Asia and Latin America have fallen to these scams and have lost hundreds and thousands of dollars.
*Source: Consumer Sentinel Network, Trade Commission, February 2019
Why are NGOs targeted by Fraudsters?
NGOs in developing countries are most vulnerable to these online fraudsters that not only offer false promises of arranging grants but also use fake identities of donor agencies to win their trust.
These fraudsters are quite aware of the fact that there are millions of small and struggling NGOs working in remote areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America with poor access to resources, skills and knowledge. They also know that these NGOs are unable to easily raise funds on their own and are willing to outsource the fundraising work to third parties.
Besides, the fraudsters are clever enough to use the fake identities of renowned international funding agencies and development organizations like the United Nations, the World Bank, Ford Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to name a few and make NGOs believe that their offers are genuine.
Recently, NGOs in Africa have reported cases where certain well-established institutions have been using the name of ‘fundsforNGOs’ to organize workshops, grants or scholarship program to gain instant popularity and support. We had to issue a disclaimer to clarify that fundsforNGOs has nor partnered neither collaborated with any agency to organize any workshop, grants or scholarship program.
It has been found that mostly struggling NGOs fall to their traps because of their desperate need to get money to fund their work without realizing that these offers only cause further losses to them in the long-term.
What are the types of Scams NGOs should be aware of?
- False Promise of Grant Funding or Award to NGOs
This is one of the most popular scams going around the internet. NGOs unexpectedly receive an email or a social media post or a WhatsApp/text message which says that a certain Foundation has selected your organization to offer grant funding and you just need to respond to this email. When gullible NGOs respond back and start a chain of email communication with the fraudster, they end up paying some money with the hope of getting this ‘large’ grant. - Conference Participation
In this case, fraudsters announce that a huge conference is being organized in a foreign country and your NGO has been selected to participate in it. The fraudster promises to cover the entire cost of air travel and accommodation but the conference registration fee needs to be paid by the NGO. - Massive Investment
NGOs also end up falling into the trap of fake investment scheme, though NGOs are not businesses and these investments bear no meaning to their work. Yet, the promise of large amounts of money makes some NGOs respond and even pay for the “service.” - Scholarship or Fellowship Program
This is another fake offer created by online fraudsters targeting students and young professionals with the false promises of giving scholarship or fellowship at a payment of a certain “fee”. - Lottery Winning and Hidden Money
These lottery winning and hidden money scams are popular across different sectors, NGOs also receive information about them and end up becoming a victim. - NGO Jobs and Employment
In this type of online fraud, messages are shared with NGO professionals about fake job offers in large and renowned international agencies such as the UN, the World Bank, IMF against payment of money. - Phishing Scams
These types of sophisticated scams are different from outright offers of grants. Phishing or, more specifically, Spear Phishing is when online fraudsters use a fake identity of a legitimate organization and ask you to provide sensitive information such as your credit or debit card, bank account details etc. to hack them and steal money from them.
How NGOs can identify signs of a scam?
Online fake offers of grants and similar scams are widespread across the NGO sector around the world. With so much information reaching them from all sides, it is often difficult for NGOs to identify the genuine grant offers from the fake ones.
Below, we are providing important tips that NGOs can use to identify whether a piece of certain grant information is genuine or not.
- All Grant Programs have an Application Process. Did you apply for it before getting the Grant?
- If you receive an unexpected email in your inbox, informing that you have been selected to receive a grant or an award by a foreign agency, you should first sit back and think if you really applied for it or did you ever contact this agency.
- All genuine grants, awards, scholarships or fellowship programs have an application process where you need to submit your details and wait for their response – a long and time-consuming process you need to go through before getting considered for a grant.
- No genuine donor agency in the world will ever land up with a financial offer in your email inbox without asking for an application from you. If you have not applied for it, it is clear that you are being targeted by online fraudsters.
- Genuine Donor Agencies will not charge money from you
- Donor agencies will not charge money from NGOs. Please think – Donor agencies are well-funded and well-established institutions existing to provide funding for your work – why would they want to charge money from you? In fact, it is illegal for donor agencies to collect money from their beneficiaries.
- If you receive a grant or scholarship offer and the “grant-maker” tells you that you need to pay some amount of money before you can receive this grant, then it clearly means that it is a fraud. No genuine donor agency will ever ask money from NGOs.
- Check the Message and the Donor Website
The email, post or text message of a fake grant or scholarship has several signs that clearly give the indication that it is a scam.
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- First of all, look out whether your name or the name of your organization has been mentioned in the “grant offer” email message.
- Fraudsters only have email addresses and they send out millions of messages hoping that some of them will respond back and a few of them will end up paying money for them. That is why, they usually address you as “Dear User,” “Dear Member,” “Dear Friend” or “Dear Organization.”
- Fraudsters do not know you until you respond back. You can now analyze this situation very well. If a donor agency does not know you by your name or the name of your organization, why do you think they will provide funding to you?
Source: Google
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- Secondly, these messages are composed and sent through software programs and they are likely to have silly grammatical errors.
- Next, you can check the website of the donor agency. Most donor agencies around the world have websites and these websites are usually SSL-enabled (What is SSL?). You can check out their security certificates.
- Then, as you scan through the webpages of this donor agency, you need to check if they have really announced a grant program that you received in your email inbox. Donor agencies publicly announce grant programs and request proper project proposals from NGOs.
- If you are unable to match the information about the “grant offer” with the one on the donor website, then it may be a scam.
Source: United Nations
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- Lastly, check out the email address from which you received the “grant offer” email message. It will always be a suspicious email address and it will never be associated with the donor agency’s official email address. Even if it is, as in some rare cases, the “Reply-To” email address will always be different, belonging to a different email address.
Source: US Department of Treasury
What to do when you come across a Scam?
The above signs are sufficient for you to understand that a certain piece of information you received is a scam. Below are the steps you need to take if you think you have come across a scam.
- Never Ever respond back to a Scam email
As fraudsters send millions of email messages, they want to make sure if the email addresses they are sending to are real and active. If you respond back even with a “No”, it is evidence enough for them to target you again, another day with a different type of scheme. So, NEVER respond to a scam email. Just delete it. - Report to the Agency whose identity has been misused
If a renowned donor agency’s name or logo has been used by the fraudster in the online scam, then you can quickly contact that agency via its website and inform them. They will not only clarify about the scam but can take legal action against the fraudster. You can also report to fundsforNGOs about any fraud involving our brand name and/or logo - Never Pay Money because the Fraudster is offering a Grant Opportunity
As mentioned earlier, no donor agency will ask money from you against a promised grant. So even if you have responded back to the fraudster, and if he asks for money, then immediately stop your communication with him.
This is a very useful information, especially for smaller NGOs in subsaharan Africa.
Thanks for the best advises which will educate most of us whom receive regularly scam messages on our emails.
Yeah that’s right
Keep the chain.
Dear sir,
we have respect always your country culture and true focus for this we have always like . we have facebook and yahoo mail in this look many many fund yet is not receive . please we have request kindly you focus true so that can back or advance .
thank you for regards
your faithfully
bijoy kumar sarker
Nabajug Unnayan Sangstha
thakurgaon Bangladesh.
Thank you a lot for these captivating insights These are good precautionary measures.
ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸಲಹೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿದೆ ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು
Hi,
Thank you for contacting fundsforNGOs. Unfortunately, our services are only available in English and we are only able to respond to queries written in English.
Good luck!
Thanks a lot for sharing with us wealth of knowledge and experience
My name is Richard am working on the Orphans and Vulnerable Children project here in East Africa what can I get Organization’s who can offer Grant or material.
Hi Richard L Sulumet,
To find great donors for your cause, please visit: https://www2.fundsforngos.org/category/children/ and apply accordingly.
Good luck!
i want to know how to have access to trining and short courses for n.g.o.si would like to have a short course in n.g.o. proffessionals i can not find a sponsor can you help me to do the course im so interested wholeheartedly i wi l be so grad for a positive answer i remain andrew a community based volunteer afarmer agardener an enviromentalist
Hi andrew kanyike bulwaanyi,
To find resources for your cause, please visit: https://www2.fundsforngos.org/category/training-events-workshops-and-conferences/ and apply accordingly.
Good luck!
Thanks a lot for the information concerning how to identify and what measures to take in the event or occurrence of internet scam.
Could you now please guide us on what the grant seekers should do to access funding from authentic prospective donors? Does Fundsforngos Agency really demand a prior registration fee in order to get proper donors? In which case, if the needy individual or NGO requests funding donation but can’ t afford the needed Payment attached, then what should be done to resolve the issue?
Grantseekers need to continuously research, communicate, apply, learn and re-apply. Fundraising is a long and complex process and requires tremendous perseverance.
fundsforNGOs does not charge a prior registration fee for NGOs to get proper donors. You can get proper donors anywhere online or even on https://www.fundsforngos.org for free.
We charge fees for a membership service (Premium) that helps NGOs gain skills and knowledge to raise funds. If you are not able to afford this service, you can still continue using https://www.fundsforngos.org for free. This website has a wealth of information on how to find donors and how to apply.
thank you so much for this useful information, it is very educational
Thanks for information about fraudster
Very good information…
Hi Tapas sen,
If you wish to stop receiving such messages, please click on the ‘unsubscribe’ option available in the footer of these reminder emails.
Thank you!
Sinvula, it is best to verify this information from the Namibian Government as we cannot really give an opinion about it as we do not have a presence in this country.
Tapas, The Premium Subscription is about professional information about fundraising. It provides necessary tools and resources so that you can raise funds on your own.
We are neither a donor agency nor we help arrange funds. It is not possible for a third-party like us to raise funds on your behalf. It is for the NGO to take the initiative and raise funds on your own. Nobody else can do this job for you.
De verdade, a nossa Organizacao foi vitima por varias vezes e chegou de perder uma quantia de aproximadamente 50.000,00Mts dando aos burladores. A partir dessa informacao, estamos muito bem claro de que ha muitos espioes que precisamos de ter um grande cuidado.
Hi Victor Maulana,
Thank you for contacting fundsforNGOs. Unfortunately, our services are only available in English and we are only able to respond to queries written in English.
Good luck!
Thank you for the information
Thanks for the search
Pls more active to be done and catch up against internet through Scan people
From
Panama Seafarer Welfare Association
God time is the best
This is a useful information especially in Nigeria.
thanks for the information,however which procedures should i take for grants to fund my project.
Hi julius omodo,
To find great donors for your cause, please visit: https://www2.fundsforngos.org/ and apply accordingly.
Good luck!
We are a group of Basotho Men and women, who have just established an educational and agricultural foundation for poor citizens of our country. It is a big challenge to many Basotho youth from poor famillies to have an aportunity to complete their studies, from high school to tertiary level. Also our country is in challenge of hunger due to lack of jobs and resources therefore LETSEMA LA BASOTHO FOUNDATION is intending to offer education opportunities with very low cost from the society and also help local farmers to improve their farming and reach international standards dus job creation and poverty reduction.
We would request for funds or donations to help us achieve the objectives to our society.
Looking forward to you feedback
Kind regards
Mathabo I. Mahe
The founder
Lesotho Maseru
Hi Mathabo I. Mahe,
Thank you for contacting fundsforNGOs. fundsforNGOs is a social enterprise that provides fundraising guides, resources, and the latest funding opportunities to help you fundraise better and secure grant funding. We are not a funding organization and we do not provide grants.
To find great donors for your cause, please visit: https://www2.fundsforngos.org/ and apply accordingly.
Good luck!
We are Master Planner’s foundation 4 Africa from Cameroon…love the advice…
Thanks for all u r msg . pls communicate regarding the methods to avail funds in online 4 free.
with regards
sowmean
I am very grateful for your excellent education, l am educated on scammers and the methodologies of scammers. Thank you.
Thanks alot this article is quite revealing and informative it will guide our NGO ..
Your team is doing a great job.
Please we are looking for an international NGO which helps prevent cybercrime an teenage prostitution for partnership.
We are an NGO based in Nigeria.
Hi ojah,
Thank you very much for your kind words. You can find more good opportunities and programmes at https://www2.fundsforngos.org/
Good Luck!
A true Donors doesn’t charge money for applying project
This is a good information that will be very useful for smaller NGOs in West Africa.
Thanks for the information.
This is a very good Information for small NGOs especially in West Africa. This will save us from getting scam.
Thanks a lot.
Thanks alot for this vital and significant information,we will keep alert.Bye
My Nama is justina Ebozoje
I and my mother run an ngo, and we surport widows,orphans,single teenager mothers,and the physically challenged ,please how can we get grants and organizations the can surport this vision .
Thank you.
Hi Justina,
Thank you for contacting fundsforNGOs. fundsforNGOs is a social enterprise that provides fundraising guides, resources, and the latest funding opportunities to help you fundraise better and secure grant funding. We are not a funding organization and we do not provide grants.
To find great donors for your cause, please visit: https://www2.fundsforngos.org/ and apply accordingly.
Good luck!
The process of getting your project funded by the foreign donors is too tough and because the corridor is so narrow and it is so crowded with much competitions. Also the high standards of the process of getting your project funded, set by the donors or it agents or partners are the reasons why individual and groups falls into the hands of the fraudsters.
Because there is work to be done, but no money to do the work needed, so you also fall into the hands of the fraudsters.
Making the process more flexible will close the gap between the individual or organizations and the donors.
I would like to thank you, for your information! I have gained a lot and I am now on alert. ‘Forewarned is Forearmed”.
Great thanks
Thank you. Quality info and well delivered.
That said, one question remains. How does my payment for premium MEMBERSHIP in FundsForNgos differ from the “fee for information” warnings you just elaborated on for the rest of us to to avoid?
Recall – YOU said earlier: “Donor agencies will not charge money from NGOs. Please think – Donor agencies are well-funded and well-established institutions existing to provide funding for your work – why would they want to charge money from you?”
Just thinking honestly
Hello,
Thank you for contacting fundsforNGOs. fundsforNGOs is a social enterprise that provides fundraising guides, resources, and the latest funding opportunities to help you fundraise better and secure grant funding. We are not a funding organization and we do not provide grants.
To find great opportunities for your cause, please visit: https://www2.fundsforngos.org
Good Luck!
Thank you so much for this great information. But how can I get a true donor? Please I am having a proposal ready on peace building.
Hello,
To find great opportunities for your cause, please visit: https://www2.fundsforngos.org
Good Luck!
This is great advice to those who operates any organization…I appreciate it
Requirement foreign donation for Nabajug Unnayan Sangstha thakurgaon Bangladesh.
Hello,
To find great opportunities for your cause, please visit: https://www2.fundsforngos.org
Good Luck!
Thank you very much for letting us aware about fraudster true they can lead some one back in steady of moving forward in terms organisation development , for me i was once a Vitim , but now i learnt , and i strongly also add my voice that please never rush to pay money to people you don’t know real Donors don’t ask for money . secondly don’t reply such people who ask for money in order to support your initiative . Thank you.
Thank you for all this info about scammers and the scamming techniques. Muchly appreciated because they almost got me.
Sir I want for my poor school children in my school
Hello,
To find great opportunities for your cause, please visit: https://www2.fundsforngos.org
Good Luck!
Thanks for enabling directives.
Leadership motivates, led the way and secures the flocks. Hopefully, you’re there that we might succeed the summit.
More grace to your elbow; and endowed with Love.
Great
This is very good.
Great