Sending money abroad and donating to charity

Sending money abroad

If you're sending money to a person or business abroad, you can do this using one of the following:

• a money transfer operator
• an online money transfer service
• a foreign exchange broker

Before sending any money using these services, check if the Finance Conduct Authority:

• have the operator, service or broker registered
• authorise the operator, service or broker

You can contact the Finance Conduct Authority through their website.

Donating money to charity online

Charities must be registered. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) keeps an online register of charities.

When donating money to charities online, you should check:

• the charity is genuine using the charity regulator's online register
• web addresses with the charity regulator or charity itself
• for 'https' and the padlock symbol in your browser window, before making payment

You should never:

• follow links embedded in emails
• respond to emails from charities you've never heard of
• donate through money transfer companies, such as Western Union or MoneyGram

Report suspicious emails

If you get an email that looks like it's from a charity but which you think is suspicious you should:

• report the email to the National Cyber Security Centre's Suspicious Email Reporting Service. You can forward the email to report@phishing.gov.uk
• delete the email

If you're worried about a charity, contact OSRC using their online Charity Concern Form.

If you've given your details to a fake charity, get advice from your bank and report the crime to Police Scotland by calling 101.

You can find more advice on donating money to charity on:

• the CyberScotland website
• the Get Safe Online website