Someone claiming to collect tzedakah for a synagogue or Jewish charity approached me unexpectedly. How do I check if it's legitimate?

Tzedakah collection is a meaningful and common practice, and its cultural importance is exactly what scammers exploit when they impersonate collectors representing a synagogue, yeshiva, or Jewish charitable organization. A fraudulent collector may approach people in person near a synagogue or Jewish community center, or increasingly reach out through social media or messaging apps, presenting a plausible cause such as supporting a struggling family, a religious school, or a specific community emergency, often with a sense of urgency that discourages the recipient from asking detailed questions.

Because genuine tzedakah collection does happen through informal, in-person channels in many communities, a fraudulent collector can blend in more easily than a fraudulent charity in contexts where formal receipts are less commonly expected for smaller cash gifts. This makes verification through the synagogue or organization's own office particularly important before giving any significant amount, and it is reasonable to ask any collector, even one who seems familiar, for confirmation of which organization they represent and how the funds will be used.

Established Jewish charitable organizations can typically confirm quickly whether a specific collection effort or individual collector is actually authorized, and donors who want to be certain their tzedakah reaches its intended purpose can also choose to give directly through the organization's own established channels rather than to an individual collector encountered unexpectedly.