Do some digging before you dig through your pockets for charity

The appeal sounds sincere, the cause seems worthwhile, and giving money to make something somewhere a little bit better just feels good.

That's probably why nearly half of young Canadians - 45 per cent of those 18 to 34 - don't do any research before handing over their hard-earned cash to a charity.

Just over half of them will donate on the spur of the moment, which adds the probability they won't check to see if the organization is legitimate first, according to a survey commissioned by CanadaHelps.org and Capital One Canada for Fraud Prevention Month.

Only 19 per cent of Millennials, as people in that age group are commonly known, are concerned about being victims of a scam - compared with 27 per cent in other age groups.

They're more likely than other age groups to hand over personal information, half as likely to ask if a charity is registered, and even less likely than that to ask for identification from those asking for the money.

The survey suggested 72 per cent of Canadians as a whole think there is more charity fraud today than 10 years ago.

"It's important that donors know how to find legitimate causes, so they can feel comfortable giving to charity - online and off," said Owen Charters, CEO of CanadaHelps, an online donations website where donors can give to all charities that are registered with the Canada Revenue Agency for a 3.9 per cent transaction fee on each donation.

Charities are increasingly making their appeals online through e-mail and social media (17 per cent), while 20 per cent continue to rely on telephone appeals.
Millennials aside, Canadians are more wary about making donations online than they are about making online purchases .

"With more Canadians giving online than ever before, it is increasingly important for them to understand what to look for before giving out their credit card number and other personal information," said Laurel Ostfield, a spokeswoman for Capital One Canada.

Capital One and CanadaHelps offer these fraud prevention tips:

- Make sure the charity is registered with the Canada Revenue Agency and provides you with its charitable registration number .

- Ask to see the charity's financial statements. They should be available to anyone who asks, and will give you an idea of how the charity spends its money.

- Understand the charity's impact. Whoever is soliciting the money should be able to give you a clear idea of what the charity does, and also the results of its efforts.

- Research. Instead of responding to solicitations when they come in, do some research about causes you support, and charities that work for those causes, and plan your giving that way. It's easier to resist solicitations if you know you're already doing what you can .

- Avoid the hard-sell. Charities that pressure you into making a donation are to be avoided, particularly if they're unwilling to provide clear and detailed information about their finances and services when asked.

Canadians can also go to www. canadahelps.org to take the third annual Charity Fraud Awareness Quiz, to see how aware they are of fraud.

The online survey was conducted among of sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18 and over who are members of the Angus Reid Forum, which is owned by Vision Critical. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.