To give the go-ahead: how to safely donate before the New Year
Before the New Year, Russians are traditionally actively engaged in charity, but during this period the number of fraudulent schemes is also growing noticeably, representatives of the largest banks and foundations told Izvestia. Attackers create fake websites and pages on social networks, collect money on behalf of well-known organizations, use phishing and steal payment data. Fees for personal cards are also common, including through hacked accounts. In 2025, new formats of deception appeared — fake "wish trees" and schemes using AI. Experts recommend transferring funds only through the official websites of foundations or banking applications in the Charity section, such as T-Bank. How to understand how reliable the fund is, and why doing good before the holidays is especially effective — in the material of Izvestia.
Why donations are increasing before the New Year
The period of holidays and family communication increases attention to basic values, and many people think that someone does not have these simple but important things, said Elizaveta Parshina, director of fundraising at the Big Change Charitable Foundation.
This seasonality is also reflected in the numbers: in December, not only the number of donations increases, but also their total volume. The increase is usually 20-30% compared to the average monthly figures, said Anna Vinogradova, Vice President of the Volunteers for Orphaned Children Foundation.
Most often, donations are one-time in nature and are made online, and corporate fees are also often held, Elizaveta Parshina said. On the eve of the holidays, the funds additionally launch special New Year promotions.
Thus, the Big Change Foundation, which helps orphans, adolescents with special needs, foster families and young adults from social homes, participates in the T-Bank's Course of Kindness project. As part of the initiative, the financial organization doubles all donations from its clients to the fund without restrictions on the amount, so each one-time transfer actually doubles, Elizaveta Parshina emphasized.
Maxim Matveev, an actor of theater and cinema, Honored Artist of Russia, became the ambassador of the "Big Change" in the project. He visited the foundation and held a question-and-answer session with its staff and students, and will continue to support the organization in the future.
At the same time, it is hoped that the number of subscriptions for regular donations will also grow, she added. For example, the foundation is currently raising funds for a large—scale and long-term project - the opening of 20 educational centers in the regions for children and adolescents in difficult situations, which will require sustained support.
New centers will appear in Izhevsk, Tyumen, Tolyatti and other cities where children especially lack systematic pedagogical assistance. There they will be able to study according to individual educational programs, receive support from teachers, curators, speech therapists and psychologists, prepare for exams and learn how to build relationships with peers and adults.
The results in the education of children who find themselves in difficult life circumstances are not quick, but such projects become a contribution to the future of society, Elizaveta Parshina added.
This year, the New Year's campaign "Give skills instead of toys" is also held by the charity foundation "Children of Ours", which helps children with serious illnesses. As part of the initiative, it is proposed to make donations not for gifts, but for training, said Natalia Petrova, director of the organization.
According to her, the foundation records an increase in the number of people supporting its work from year to year. This indicates that the organization's mission is resonating, and the community around it is becoming more cohesive and active.
In addition, corporate activities and fees play a significant role in the development of charity. Many companies involve employees in such initiatives, which gives people the opportunity to participate in good deeds and feel involved in socially significant projects, the expert added.
What schemes are used by scammers with charity
During the New Year holidays, when people respond more actively to calls for help, the risk of fraud increases. At such a time, it is especially important to follow the rules of digital hygiene and be attentive to online donations, said Dmitry Miklukho, Senior Vice President and head of the Information Security Unit at the PSB.
The main threats are related to phishing clone sites that fraudsters create to steal bank data, as well as social media fees from unverified personal accounts. These risks are especially relevant on the eve of the holidays, when the level of trust and willingness to help is higher than usual, said Alexey Lossan, an analyst at the financial marketplace Compare.
Scammers skillfully play on people's sympathy and desire to help. They carefully copy the design and style of official resources, use real stories, data and photographs of really existing patients or those in need, which makes the deception as plausible as possible, explained the data analyst of the Coordination Center of domains .RU/.Russian Federation" Evgeny Pankov.
There are also risks specific to the charity sector. Among them are fundraising for personal bank cards without transparent reporting and supporting documents, as well as emotional pressure and an appeal to urgency ("we need it today", "last chance before the New Year"), said Dina Fomicheva, head of corporate sales at Telecom Exchange. According to her, artificially created haste significantly reduces critical thinking.
Among the new fraudulent schemes are fictitious New Year's fundraisers allegedly for the participants of the SVO, Evgeny Pankov warned. In such cases, phishing sites and messenger mailings are used.: they look convincing, appeal to strong emotions and use correct vocabulary, but the collected funds do not reach the recipients and settle with the attackers.
Over the past year, fake "wish trees" have also appeared, and scammers have become more active in using artificial intelligence technologies — fake photos, videos and voice messages allegedly from those in need, added Dina Fomicheva. At the same time, classical methods are still used: hacking accounts of real people or foundations, followed by sending requests for urgent help, as well as publishing false reports.
New trends include the use of neural networks and deepfakes to create video messages on behalf of famous people or volunteers, as well as the launch of fake online stores of "charity" goods. In such projects, fundraising is disguised as buying souvenirs, Alexey Lossan added.
How to help people and not fall for the tricks of scammers
In order not to become a victim of fraudsters, it is important first of all to make sure that the collection and the organization that conducts it are real, said Evgeny Pankov from the .RU/.RF Domain Coordination Center. He advises to find the official website of the foundation, check the availability of information about the collection and, if necessary, clarify the details at the specified contacts.
The expert also recommends checking payment details with the official data of the organization, including through the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRLE) on the website of the Federal Tax Service. Donations should be transferred to the fund's checking account, not to individual cards — such transfers remain one of the main signs of fraud.
You should not succumb to emotional pressure when the collection is presented as "urgent" or "last chance". It is better to spend time checking than to transfer money to intruders, Evgeny Pankov emphasized.
Domain analysis can be an additional verification tool: it is important that it is registered with the charity itself and has been operating for several years. And if a request for help comes from friends, you should contact them directly and make sure that their account has not been hacked, the expert emphasized.
Funds should be transferred only through secure fund websites — the page address should start with https, not http — as well as through banking applications or verified payment gateways, advises Dmitry Miklukho from PSB.
According to him, it is also useful to further study information about the founders and management of the organization: open data can be found through a search in the media and social networks. Another important point is that serious charitable foundations do not collect donations on the streets. More than 200 leading foundations in Russia have signed a declaration condemning this method of fundraising, the expert shared.
Another tip is to support verified funds that have been verified by major players, receive grants, and enjoy business support. As a rule, such organizations have already passed several levels of inspections, work transparently and safely, said Elizaveta Parshina from the Big Change Foundation.
According to her, donations should be made through the official websites of foundations or trusted aggregators, such as banking services and large crowdfunding platforms. In particular, the charity project "Course of Kindness" operates in the T-Bank application, aimed at long-term support of system and infrastructure projects of Russia's leading foundations. Its key mechanics are doubling customer donations without any amount limits, and the partner fund changes every two months on a rotating basis.
The foundations "Life as a Miracle", "Anton is nearby" and "Vera" have already become participants in the initiative. Since June 2025, more than 450 million rubles have been donated to charitable organizations for their purposes as part of the project.:
- The Life as a Miracle Foundation has provided support for early diagnosis of hereditary liver diseases in children, in-depth genetic research and training of doctors in federal medical centers.;
- The Anton is Here Nearby Foundation implements projects to provide systematic assistance to people with autism, including the opening of the first support resource center in St. Petersburg.;
- Through its participation in the project, the Vera Foundation is developing a network of regional palliative care services, helping terminally ill people and their families receive professional support at home and in hospitals across the country.
The next partner will be the Oncologica Foundation, which helps people with cancer.
The press service of Sberbank also talked about the possibility of using the services of the financial organization to support various NGOs — they are already used by about 9 million benefactors. Alfa-Bank has similar donation tools. Kristina Vdovina, director of brand and charity at the credit institution, said that the bank's services contain the details of verified funds, so by making donations through them, you can be sure that the funds will reach their destination.
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