Protecting fundraisers against identity theft

Fundraisers may not realise an important additional benefit of using an online fundraising platform is protection against identity theft. Using an online fundraising platform ensures that you never need to share your own financial details. Sharing personal banking or financial information over the web is not safe when it comes to scams and identity theft. At mycause, we are committed to maintaining the safety and privacy of all users of our platform. Read on to understand how fundraisers and donors are protected when using mycause and what more you can do.

Never share your bank details publicly

Sharing bank details publicly can make you vulnerable to fraud and identity theft. Personal details such as BSB and account numbers, and even credit card numbers, can be easily misused by unauthorised individuals. Sharing bank details can also leave you open to phishing scams, where fraudsters pose as trustworthy and try to mislead you into revealing your sensitive information.

To protect yourself against identity theft, fraud, and phishing scams, it’s important to keep your bank details private. Only share them with trusted sources. This means keeping them off publicly accessible sites online such as social media and fundraising pages on the web. The simplest way to protect yourself is to use your online fundraising page exclusively when asking for and collecting donations.

Protecting you and your donations

Online fundraising platforms like mycause offer protection against identity theft and similar misuse of personal details by handling all monies for you. Simply using a reputable online fundraising platform removes your exposure so you can fundraise with ease and peace-of-mind. You only need to share your fundraising page link to direct individuals to donate. 

Online fundraising platforms should also keep your donors and their donations safe. For example, mycause has systems in place to detect and prevent fraudulent activities. It’s important to note that not all online fundraising platforms are the same. Research the reputation of your chosen platform. Search the platform's FAQs page in your research or give them a quick call to have your questions answered. Only use them if you feel comfortable with the level of protection they provide you and your contributors. 

Securely collecting and disbursing funds for charity

Online fundraising platforms also ensure funds collected for charity are securely and correctly disbursed. You may not know that when you collect funds for a charity you have compliance obligations that differ per state. There may also be instructions and legal requirements for overseas accounts. Collecting funds for charities on mycause must go through the platform.

mycause online fundraising platform handles all requirements for you to ensure donations are safe. If you select a registered Australian charity as the beneficiary of your funds, all money raised will be sent directly to the charity. In addition, mycause has a legal agreement with the charity to securely collect and disburse funds. In most cases, this means we are able to issue tax receipts to your donors. We are also Australian and all data is securely held in Australia.

What fundraisers can do to prevent identity theft

There are several ways you can protect yourself from identity theft when fundraising online. By following the steps below, you’ll protect yourself, your donors, and all your fundraising efforts.

1. Use a reputable, secure online fundraising platform. Online fundraising platforms have all the systems and agreements in place for efficient, secure collection and disbursement of funds. They do all the hard work for you. Let them!

2. Use strong, unique passwords every time. You could utilise one of the many password managing apps to help suggest and store logins.

3. Keep your banking and financial details private. Never post your bank or credit card details on a publicly accessible location online.

4. Share only your online fundraising page link to collect ALL donations in one place. This eliminates any admin headaches, or losses due to stolen cash donations.

Using online fundraising platforms are, in short, the best protection against identity theft, fraud, and phishing scams when fundraising. Platforms generally employ security measures and have agreements in place to protect users and their personal information. Additionally, they may have systems in place to identify and stop fraudulent activities in their tracks. You avoid any further exposure to any criminal activities when you use your online fundraising page as intended and take responsibility for protecting your financial and bank details.