After disasters, charity scams run rampant, author Christopher Elliott

These “truly evil” charity scams follow every storm. Don’t get taken by them

If 2017 was a record year for national disasters, then it was a disastrous year for charity scams.

It’s difficult to estimate the size of these swindles. The site Charity Navigator says total giving to charitable organizations hit $390 billion in 2016, an increase of 2.7 percent. A separate UK study estimates that charity fraud amounted to $3.1 billion in 2017.