RSPCA and the British Heart Foundation fined for secretly ‘wealth-screening’ millions of donors to get more money from them
RSPCA fined £25,000 and the BHF £18,000 for breaching the Data Protection Act after using wealth management companies to analyse the financial status of supporters
THE RSPCA and the British Heart Foundation secretly “wealth-screened” millions of donors so they could get more money out of them.
They used wealth management companies to analyse the financial status of supporters.
They also traced new or lapsed donors using information bought from other charities, the data watchdog found.
Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham fined the RSPCA £25,000 and the BHF £18,000 for breaching the Data Protection Act.
She said: “The millions of people who give their time and money to benefit good causes will be saddened to learn their generosity wasn’t enough.”
The Charity Commission has opened probes into both organisations.