City and charities combat fraudulent donation boxes with new tool

http://www.1310news.com/2015/12/15/city-and-charities-combat-fraudulent-donation-boxes-with-new-tool/

• Local

by Kimberley Molina

Posted Dec 15, 2015 8:17 pm EST

Last Updated Dec 15, 2015 at 8:21 pm EST

Councillor Rick Chiarelli talks about growing problem with fraudulent donation boxes in Ottawa, Dec. 15/15 Kimberley Molina

OTTAWA – Ottawa residents are in the giving mood, but may not realize instead of giving to a charity, they’re handing over donations to fraudsters.
It’s not just cash donations but clothes as well. Ottawa City Councillor Rick Chiarelli is spearheading a movement to combat the problem, along with a number of local charities.
A new map and locator tool – that will become interactive in the next few days – is available on a number of local charities websites, including the Capital Welcomes Facebook Page, the Refugee 613 website and Rick Chiarelli’s website.
The problem has been ongoing for years but has gotten worse in the last three years and around 400 fraudulent boxes popped up across the city just this past summer, said Chiarelli.

Part of problem city experiencing is number of fraudulent donation boxes set up around city, ~400 new ones this past summer #ottnews

— Kimberley Molina (@KimberleyMolina) December 15, 2015

“The impact there is that donors are ripped off because their donations aren’t going where they’re supposed to go and the longstanding charitable community organizations end up without enough clothes for the people of Ottawa,” Chiarelli said.

The fraudulent boxes look legitimate, say United Way or ‘Do it for Darren’ but are fake. #ottnews
— Kimberley Molina (@KimberleyMolina) December 15, 2015

Criminals put the fake donation boxes with labels of recognized charities across the city and then pick up the donations and truck them off to other markets, like Toronto or Montreal. It’s a more lucrative business than people might realize, said Chiarelli.