Special interest group warns of trust scam against charities

Howard Lake | 25 April 2004 | News

The trusts special interest group of the Institute of Fundraising has warned of a scam against charities based on a cheque purportedly from a grant-making trust.

According to the special interest group’s email newsletter: “A trust sends you a cheque for, for example, £2,000 but then rings to say an administrative mistake has been made and you should in fact have only received £1,000.

“The charity subsequently issues a cheque for the difference and the original “donation” bounces at the bank. Cheques are forged and look to be from reputable trust organisations.”

So, keep an eye out for any cheques that don’t look right, even if they appear to come from a trust. And be very suspicious if a trust contacts your organisation asking for a refund due to an administrative error.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.