Did you know that for every donor with good intentions, there exists an organization with the opposite? It is hard to believe a person would create a fraudulent scheme in the form of acting as a charity. Everyday, people who are trying to contribute to society in a positive way are scammed by people or organizations who are trying to make a quick buck. These scams must end and these supervillain scammers must be brought to justice. Let’s look at the ways how you can become a superhero in the world of car donations!
Less than 10 years ago, the FTC investigated a case stating that a church community and a small family managed to swindle donors out of $187 million over the course of 5 years. Again, this is $187 million that seemingly was supporting cancer victims was instead fueling a lifestyle of luxurious vacations and fast cars for these scammers.
Four interlinked groups portraying themselves as legitimate charities were in reality acting as complete shams. The investigation cites how minimal assistance was provided to those in need, and on the other hand, these supervillain scammers were profiting completely at the expense of the donor. In addition to the scammers living a luxurious lifestyle, they also were able to ‘hire’ extended family and other church members at six-figure salaries.
These supervillains targeted and contacted their ‘victims’ through telemarketing, mail and other online car donation shams. 97% of every dollar donated went to the accused family and friends. Imagine making a large donation, just to find out only $0.03 on the dollar has truly gone to those in need?
How Can YOU Become a Superhero?
Not only is a scam like this shocking, evil and in some sense, incomprehensible, but unfortunately, actions like this are far from isolated when it comes to donation scams. In the history of forever, there have always been people seeking to exploit the vulnerable for their own gains. Even when it comes to nonprofit organizations. These supervillains act on the lack of oversight and enforcement within the donation industry, allowing them to deceive donors and undermine the very essence of generosity that drives charitable organizations and local communities.
The world of car donations is especially vulnerable when it comes to fraudulent schemes. This is unfortunate because dishonest organizations take advantage of the spirit of generosity, something thousands of people are eager to be a part of. In most cases, when someone donates a vehicle, there is a valuable personal connection tied to either the car itself and/or the charity it will be benefiting. These dishonest organizations only care about one thing. Profit.
Like the church scheme, another trending false initiative revolves around supporting children. Many “cars for kids” schemes often mislead donors and end up allocating very little of the proceeds to causes that will further children’s welfare, education and health. Instead, the proceeds fall into the pockets of middlemen, defeating the purpose of the title, ‘charity.’ Now you can help us bring justice to the car donation world now knowing how to become a superhero!
Advanced Remarketing Services has the priority of making the entire donation process based entirely on support, trust and connections between donors and the charities of their choosing. We solely work with reputable charities such as American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity, and the Special Olympics to name a few. See our full list here. To this point, ARS has generated well over $100 million for our partner charities, allowing our donors to make a positive impact in their communities as well as the environment. At ARS, we pride ourselves in being able to say that more than 80% of every dollar raised is returned to charity. There is no other program in the nation that can match our commitment to the community.
For more than a decade, ARS has been alerting donors of false schemes and fraudulent donation sites. However, at the end of the day, a majority of the responsibility falls upon the donors themselves as they must conduct thorough research on each potential donation site. Being able to identify which ones are trustworthy and which are fraudulent just might make YOU a superhero! We can help you begin your search here, our recommendations for choosing a charitable car donation program.
If during the process you find yourself with questions you can’t find the answer to, reach out to us! We’re eager to help you on your own car donation journey!
Who We Are at ARS:
Advanced Remarketing Services offers innovative solutions to some of the toughest questions when it comes to the remarketing industry. We navigate the ever changing landscape of wholesale, salvage and consumer markets in order to sell vehicles in the best venue to the most appropriate buyer base.