FRANKFORT, Ky. — The holidays are right around the corner and that means so are the schemers who often use the "most wonderful time of the year" to take advantage of people.

Gov. Andy Beshear is warning families to be on the lookout for scammers trying to take advantage of generosity. 

Beshear and his office are publishing a Charitable Giving Guide that tells you how to verify legitimate charities and avoid charity scams.

In a release, Beshear said, “Team Kentucky always answers the call when another person needs assistance, which could make us a target for charity scams. Those happen year-round but tend to peak around the Thanksgiving and Christmas giving season. The Charitable Giving Guide will help Kentuckians ensure their hard-earned dollars are used to help their neighbors and are not stolen by scammers.”

According to the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2019, 23,645 Kentuckians reported fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2019, with reported losses totaling $10.5 million.

Some advice from the Charitable Giving Guide recommends: 

  1. Plan your giving in advance
  2.  Don’t respond to mass charity solicitations, suspicious charity requests that scammers typically use on social media ads, by phone, or through email. Make sure you are donating to a known charity with an established track record.
  3. Research charities
  4. Only donations made to qualified charities are tax-deductible. Donors who are not familiar with a charitable organization should verify their 501(c)(3) status and what percentage of their income goes to the charity’s purpose. 

There are several online websites where donors can verify a charity's information and look over charity reviews, leadership, and annual report information.