Barnardos hit by bogus collectors
Howard Lake | 30 September 2009 | News
Bogus door-to-door fundraisers are depriving the Ireland’s biggest children’s charity of thousands of euro.
The scammers have so far hit homes in Dublin, Mayo, Galway, Sligo and Roscommon posing as collectors for Barnardo’s.
Typically the fraudsters say they are taking part in a local event to raise money for the children helped by Barnardo’s. Yolanda Kennedy, the charity’s communications manager, has warned the public to be vigilant and says Barnardo’s does not make door-to-door collections.
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In the north Dublin suburbs of Malahide and Portmarnock a middle-aged woman collected money claiming she was organising a sponsored walk for the charity.
To reassure houseowners who answered her door knock, she gave a local address and said she was fundraising among neighbours. She carried a clipboard and wrote the name of the donor and the amount given on a white pad.
Several people became suspicious and contacted the gardai but the woman was not caught. Barnardo’s has expressed concern that people are giving money in good faith under the illusion that their donation will help needy children.
“We don’t recommend that our fundraisers make door-to-door collections. We ask them to collect from friends, families and work colleagues,” said Ms Kennedy.
www.barnardos.ie
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.