'Tis the season for charitable giving and scammers are out in force hoping to trick people into sending donations to them instead of a charity. According to the Giving USA Foundation, Americans gave almost $428 billion to charity in 2018.

The Internal Revenue Service warns that the end of December is the most common time to be called about scam donations that go to a scammer’s bank account rather than a charitable organization.

IRS spokesman Michael Devine says donors need to perform some due diligence. The IRS, FBI, and the Federal Trade Commission all have websites that allow donors to verify that a charity is legitimate.

 94.1 WGFA