CONCORD – State officials have posted the names of all registered charities and professional fundraisers on the Attorney General's Web site, and yesterday they urged people to pay close attention to any requests for donations or mail that announces financial awards.

New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said her office is receiving an increasing number of reports of scams involving solicitations for charity. That includes donations to nonprofit organizations that either do not exist or are not legitimate.

For example, the FBI has reported hundreds of Internet scams following Hurricane Katrina, said Michael DeLucia, a senior assistant attorney general and head of the Charitable Trusts Unit.

"People feel comfortable when they're responding to the Internet," he said.

And even legal charities can be questionable. For example, the California-based Help Hospitalized Veterans collected $168 million between 2004 and 2008, but only 25 percent went to hospitalized veterans, according to news reports.

The charity paid the founder and his wife salaries that totaled $1.5 million and covered $340,000 in their expenses.

The Charitable Trusts Unit posts all charities and charitable funds registered with the attorney general as well as a list of all registered professional fundraisers on its Web site: www.doj.nh.gov/charitable.

All professional fundraisers soliciting donations for nonprofit organizations are required to obtain a permit from the attorney general before the campaign begins. A listing of all approved campaigns was added to the Web site yesterday and will be updated on a monthly basis.

"You have to be very careful when you give," DeLucia said. Besides checking to make sure charities are registered, people can also visit Web sites such as Guidestar and Charity navigator that give detailed information about any legitimate charity.

Another option is to give to local trustworthy charities, DeLucia said.

"If you really want to give and give well, you give to the local charity that you know well," he said.

The Web site also lists all the registered charities that closed over the last few years and includes tips on charitable giving.

Recently, the attorney general warned about scams related to the economic stimulus package and tax returns, an automobile insurance scam seeking bank account information, another scam targeting grandparents and various schemes resulting from December's ice storm.

Contact the Charitable Trusts Unit for additional information at 271-3591.

Union Leader reporter Mark Hayward contributed to this article.