How to check a medical debt charity, and how to check us.

Five things to look for

1. A legal name and tax status. The organization says who it is, where it is and what the IRS has decided about it.
2. A public record of what it bought. It shows what it has done with gifts, with dates.
3. No tips at checkout. Nothing is added to your gift unless you choose it.
4. A way to check its letters. You can confirm that a letter using its name is real.
5. A corrections log. It admits mistakes in public.

The checks below take a few minutes and work for any organization, including us.

Check that it is a registered charity

Look the organization up in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. It shows whether the IRS recognizes the organization as tax-exempt and whether gifts to it can be deducted.

Many states also require charities to register before they ask people in that state for money. The National Association of State Charity Officials lists the office in each state where you can look an organization up.

A brand-new organization may not appear yet. If it doesn't, its own website should say so plainly, along with what it has applied for.

Read its filings

Most tax-exempt organizations file a yearly return with the IRS called Form 990. It shows income, spending, pay for top staff and the board. Organizations must let the public see their returns and exemption applications, and many publish them on their own websites.

An organization in its first year may not have filed one yet. Its website should still tell you who runs it and how money is spent.

Look for a public record of its work

An organization that buys medical debt should be able to show what its work has done: when debt was cancelled, how much was cancelled and how many people it reached. Ask whether that record is public, and whether it is dated.

Independent ratings, and why new organizations have none

Charity rating services usually need several years of filings before they can rate an organization. A new organization with no rating is normal. A seal or badge on a website should link to the rater's own page, where you can confirm it.

Warning signs

• A fee to cancel your debt. Real medical debt relief never asks the person who owes the debt to pay anything.
• A company dressed as a charity. Some debt settlement companies use words like “relief” or “forgiveness” and charge fees. Check the legal name in the IRS search.
• Pressure. Being told to give or pay right now, before you can check.
• No legal name, no address. You can't find who is behind it.
• Requests for card numbers, bank details or a Social Security number by phone, text or email.

How to check us

• Our legal name, address, tax status and what is still missing are on our transparency page.
• Our Impact ledger will show every purchase. It starts at zero: we have not bought any debt yet.
• Our letter check page says how we contact people. We have not mailed any relief letters yet.
• Our corrections log lists every mistake we fix.

Report a scam

• Report a charity or debt relief scam to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• Tell your state's charity office or attorney general. The state charity officials' list shows where.
• If a letter or message uses our name, use our report form.

If you paid or shared details, call your bank now.