New York (NY) - Credit card thieves are increasingly donating to charities with stolen credit card numbers. According to the Symantec blog , scammers are verifying whether stolen numbers work by making payments to popular charities like the Red Cross or United Way.

The author of the blog article, Yazan Gable, says the thieves generally try small payments first. Sophisticated computer systems monitor credit card transactions and can suspend a card if suspicious activity is detected, but Gable says, "bank behavior monitors may be less likely to pick up on donations to charities."

Gable believes the trend will continue, but at least he sees a little bit of upside to the scammers’ criminal activities. "I guess the one thing to note here though is that at least some of the stolen money is going to a good cause," he said.