Occasionally, we receive reports that bad actors attempt to scam individuals by appearing as a representative of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
The scam typically begins with the bad actor informing an individual, typically through private messages on Facebook or by phone, that they have been selected to receive a large grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. After responding, the bad actor indicates that, in order to claim the funds, the individual must share personal information like their bank account and routing numbers.
Things to know
- The CFO does not issue grants directly to individuals.
- The CFO does not randomly select individuals to receive grants, especially in the amounts of tens of thousands of dollars.
- The CFO does not request bank account information from individuals with whom we do not have a prior relationship.
What to do
- If you receive a suspicious message on social media, do not reply.
- Mark the message as a fraud/scam.
- Report the user profile a fraud/scam.
- If the message came on Facebook/Facebook Messenger, send a message to the CFO and share a link to the user profile. We will also report the account.
- If contacted by phone, hang up and call the CFO at 417-864-6199 to verify that the CFO is trying to contact you. If you are certain it is a scammer, report the number as spam and block the number.
- If contacted by text, report it as spam and block the number.
