The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) kicked off its first annual campaign on Monday in order to help charities and donors to avoid charity fraud and promote wise giving.

The campaign, named "International Charity Fraud Awareness Week" (ICFAW), would be held between Oct. 22 and 26, 2018, said the FTC.

According to the FTC, ICFAW features a social media campaign on Twitter and Facebook that promotes wise giving tips focused on five topics: giving after natural disasters, charitable solicitations made via telemarketing, privacy, online giving and wise giving.

Apart from personal donations, the FTC had also released "Tips for Retailers: How to Review Charity Requests" on its website, giving specific advices to firms that were approached for charitable contributions.

"Generous Americans gave more than 286 billion U.S. dollars to charity last year," said FTC Chairman Joe Simons, "It's important to raise awareness about charity fraud and promote wise giving, to ensure that consumers' money goes where it is intended and helps those in need."

In addition to the U.S. participants in ICFAW, the Charities Commission for England & Wales, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, the New Zealand Charities Service, and the Office of the Scottish Regulator were also joining the first annual campaign, said the FTC.

"Joining forces with state and international partners makes all of our education efforts more effective." Simons added.