What is this scam? How do I determine if this is a scam?

While many legitimate charities solicit donations over the phone and mail, scammers aren't above pulling on your heartstrings. Scammers use charity and donation scams because they are an easy way to tap into emotion. With emotionally charged situations, it becomes much easier for a scammer to extract your money or personal information. Charity scammers act a little different from legitimate charities, though. Charity scammers will often pressure and rush you into donating immediately. Charity scammers may also request donations in ways legitimate charities won't: gift cards and wire transfers. You can use charity rating lookup service to determine whether a charity is real -- but even if the charity is real, the call may not be. If you want to donate to a cause, look up the charity yourself, and call them directly.