Avoid donation-related scams
How to donate wisely
- Confirm that the organization is a registered charity or another type of qualified donee by checking our lists:
- Find out more about the organization by visiting its website.
- Beware of donation schemes that promise a tax receipt for more than you donated.
- Make sure your donation is payable to the registered charity or other qualified donee (not to an individual).
- Make sure your online payments are secure.
- Don’t donate if you feel pressured to give immediately, or if you identify any other signs of fraud.
Signs of fraud
It may be a scam if an organization:
- pressures you to give right away
- calls to thank you for a pledge you don't remember making
- uses names that sound like well-known charities, but that are not quite the same
- has canvassers who do not want to give you details about their organization
- asks you to send cash, gift cards, or a money order, instead of accepting other forms of donations like an electronic transfer, cheque or credit card (cash is not traceable and cannot be cancelled)
- offers to send a courier to collect your money
- has overly-friendly canvassers who ask personal questions
- uses free email addresses, which let people hide their identity
- has strange call display numbers such as 123-456-7890 or 777-777-7778, which might mean the caller is trying to hide their number
Donation tax shelter schemes
Donation tax shelter schemes are arrangements where you get a donation receipt for more than the amount you donated. Tax shelters provide little or no benefit to the charities or other type of qualified donees involved, or to the people you think you might be helping. Instead, many of these arrangements take advantage of a charity’s ability to issue receipts for the private gain of the promoters and participants.
If a tax shelter promoter offers a tax receipt for a larger amount than the out-of-pocket cost, then it is likely not valid.
We strongly suggest that taxpayers seek advice from an independent tax professional who is not connected to the scheme or promoter before participating in any aggressive or high-risk activity where all or most of the return on investment is derived from a tax benefit.
Tax shelter identification number
Tax shelter promoters must get a tax shelter identification number from the CRA. We use this number to identify the tax shelter and its participants. It is for administrative purposes only and does not entitle the participants to any advantages associated with the tax shelter.
If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Think twice before participating in a donation tax shelter scheme or any other donation scheme.
For more information about tax schemes and how you can protect yourself, go to Tax schemes.