Introduction To The Feed Foundation Scam Calls
Alert Scam warriors! There is a new scam in town, The Feed Foundation Scam. After impersonating popular tech companies and government organizations scammers have now moved to charity. I mean not doing charity but impersonating charity organizations. Their latest impersonation is The Feed Foundation. They are targeting victims using this name more aggressively than before with some people receiving 11-15 calls a day.
Is feed foundation real?
In the heat of Feed Foundation scam calls a lot of people are wondering is the feed foundation real, or just a fake entity created by scammers to dupe people. When we did our research on this organization, we found out that FEED Foundation is a real organization, registered as a 501(c)(3) public charity with the IRS. The FEED Foundation is an organization dedicated to creating a sustainable and equitable food system for everyone. It operates under the belief that access to nutritious food is a fundamental human right and that everyone should have enough to eat, regardless of the circumstances they were born into.
Founded by Lauren in 2008, the FEED Foundation was established to broaden the philanthropic efforts of her lifestyle brand, FEED Projects. This brand primarily focuses on addressing childhood hunger through the sale of consumer goods. Alongside Board members, Lauren leads the foundation in taking a comprehensive approach to envisioning and shaping the future of food as a global system.
What is The Feed Foundation Scam?
As we all know it is an old trick of online scammers to use the names of legitimate companies and organizations to gain the trust of the victims and later exploit it to extract money from them. They have done it with the IRS, SSA, Microsoft, Amazon, and, many other organizations in the past and we have all received fake phone calls and emails that used their name and logos.
The latest organization that the scammers have started using to gain trust and exploit people is “the Feed Foundation”. Kind hearted and financially well-off people are known to support the once in need through charities and it makes charity organizations a very convenient masks for the scammers to wear and defraud innocent people. The Feed Foundation is the new mask of clever online scammers to run their scam operations and loot money from the people in the name of charity. After reading hundreds of Reddit and YouTube user comments on this topic we figured out that the scammers are using different numbers to call people from this organization. People have reported about getting multiple calls in a day and this number may even go up to 11-15 call a day. When these users search this number on Google, it gets traced back to the Feed Foundation which does not seem real but exploitation of some kind of loophole to link all these numbers to the foundation.
How does the Feed Foundation Scam work?
The scammers reach out to potential victims via email, phone calls, or text messages. They often use high-pressure tactics, urging people to donate quickly to take advantage of matching funds or to address an urgent need. To appear legitimate, scammers set up professional-looking websites. These sites are designed to look legitimate and gain users trust, they may also use the original website of The Feed Foundation to win the trust of victims. Once they believe that the victim’s trust is won they then encourage them to donate funds for a noble cause that instead of going to charity goes into scammers pockets.
How to Prevent Feed Foundation Scams:
To protect yourself from feed foundation scams, it’s important to:
- Research the Charity: Before donating, verify the legitimacy of the organization. Use websites like Charity Navigator, GuideStar, or the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance to check the charity’s reputation. Check for their social media accounts, and accounts of people linked to the charity like managers, associates, CEO, and founders.
- Use legitimate payment methods: Never use payment methods such as gift cards, crypto, or prepaid debit cards to support a charity. If any charity pushes you to use these methods hang up on them. The best way to pay for a charity is by mailing a cheque to the charity’s official address after doing a thorough research about the charity and its office location.
- Check for Red Flags: Look out for red flags such as high-pressure tactics, urgent requests for donations, or requests for payment through unusual methods. Getting multiple unsolicited calls and messages is a big red flag.
- block Unwanted calls: To stop getting unwanted and unsolicited calls from these scammers you can use a third-party application that screens incoming calls. Though there are many applications and services out there, Robo Killer has been found helpful by some Reddit users. You can also try picking up the call and saying “Thank you for calling the police department”, It has worked for some people and they did not get a call back.
What to Do if You Suspect a Scam
Report the Scam: If you believe you’ve encountered a feed foundation scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Better Business Bureau (BBB) or your local consumer protection agency. By reporting the scams you help the agencies in spreading awareness in society and take action to shut down prevalent scams.
Notify the Charity: If the scammers are impersonating a legitimate charity, inform the real organization so they can take appropriate action. Often, charity organizations are not even aware that their websites and names are being used to con people. By notifying the charity you help them in taking quick actions to stop these kinds of activities.
Monitor Your Finances: If you’ve provided financial information to a scammer, monitor your bank and credit card statements for any unauthorized transactions and report them to your financial institution. Inform your bank to cancel your credit and debit cards and issue you a new one. Also, ask your bank not to process suspicious transactions and call for authorization.
Conclusion:
Understanding and preventing scams like the Feed Foundation scam is crucial in today’s digital age. As scammers become more sophisticated, exploiting the goodwill of kind-hearted individuals through fake charity appeals, staying vigilant is more important than ever. By researching charities thoroughly, using legitimate payment methods, and recognizing red flags such as high-pressure tactics and unsolicited calls, you can protect yourself from these fraudulent schemes. Always report suspected scams to the appropriate authorities and notify the legitimate charity if their name is being misused. With awareness and caution, we can all contribute to a safer, scam-free environment.
Stay vigilant, stay informed, and prioritize your digital security in this ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats. At The Scam Protector, we save people from getting scammed by raising awareness and informing them about prevalent online scams. You can do it too just by joining our tribe on Twitter , Facebook, Quora, Reddit, LinkedIn.
