Don't Fall for This TikTok Donation Scam

Social media is rife with content that captures animal lovers' attention, and scammers are capitalizing on this with campaigns that solicit donations to fake charitable causes. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is alerting users to a new scam on TikTok that purports to sell handmade crafts in order to raise funds for animal shelters.

Here's how to spot this donation scam (and others like it).

What the TikTok donation scam looks like

According to the BBB, this TikTok campaign involves videos of older adults making crafts, such as cat toys, with background music and a message that goes something like, “Please don’t scroll for 12 seconds to help my failing animal shelter.” The video further explains that they are selling these items to help fund a shelter for cats or other animals (which may also be shown).

The video description includes a link to donate to the cause or purchase the item—which, of course, you'll never receive, nor will the funds actually be used to help animals in need. The BBB cites a report from its Scam Tracker of a TikTok account run by user FlappyBirdUS, though there are likely plenty of other scammers employing similar tactics on TikTok and other social media platforms. Note that these videos may be AI-generated or use content stolen from other accounts.

How to spot donation scams

Scams of all kinds play on emotions—fear, greed, sympathy—to get victims to act, whether that involves handing over personal information or donating money to "charitable" causes. If you see content on TikTok or elsewhere that makes you feel something and urges you to act now, resist that urge.

Instead, do some research about the person or organization: Look up the name, contact information, and website, and type the information into a search with the term "scam" to see if anyone has identified it as fraudulent. You can also search for charitable organizations on sites like Charity Navigator, GuideStar, and Give.org and look for their verified social media accounts. If an organization isn't listed, that doesn't mean it isn't legit, but you should dig further before donating or making a purchase. Alternatively, consider seeking out local organizations or mutual aid groups engaged in causes or action you care about in your area.

You should also look out for signs of AI-generated videos, which are used in numerous types of scams. As we've noted, though, we are easily swayed by things we want to believe, such as videos of cute animals in need, making AI content particularly difficult to spot.

Finally, there are of course other iterations of the donation scam out there, some of which use social media posts to solicit Venmo donations to fraudulent accounts in the name of legitimate individuals or organizations. The same rules for avoiding these scams apply.