The Federal Trade Commission recorded more than $12.5 billion in losses from fraud and scams in the U.S. in 2024 . That is up $2.5 billion from 2023 , and only reflects losses victims have reported. According to the FBI, scammers are exploiting people's generosity by creating fake charities that appear legitimate.

"No charity is safe from this, and the way they're scamming is through a bunch of different means," said Christina Wessel, an FBI cyber special agent based in Birmingham.

Wessel said scammers are expanding the tactics they use to deceive potential donors.

"It's not just websites, it's calls - you know, it only takes a three-second sound bite to take on a person's full voice and have conversations that way," Wessel said.

Fake charity websites are also beco

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