Beware of Haiti Relief Scams
by Frank Jovine on 01/15/2010 in Scams & Hoaxes, Security
Cybercriminals are at it again, but this time they’re taking advantage of people during a tragedy to make money. It’s sad to think we have people like this that walk amongst us. The country of Haiti is in shambles, without electricity or phone service, tangling efforts to provide relief. We all need to help, but we also need to be careful on who we make donations to.
It’s important that we all do our due diligence before responding to any requests for donations.
Here are some guidelines you need to follow before making a donation of any kind:
- Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.
- Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
- Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.
- Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
- Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.
- Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.
Here’s a list of organization that you can send donations to for the Haiti Earthquake Relief.
Other Scams: Beware of Tax Refund Scams.
Kikolani
Jan 15th, 2010
It’s so sad that someone would take advantage of good people trying to help a cause. But that is the world we live in now. Definitely be sure to verify organizations before contributing to them, because you want your money going to help those that truly need it.
Frank Jovine
Jan 15th, 2010
Kristi,
It is sad we have people that walk the earth like this.
John Valenta
Jan 15th, 2010
Frank,
Our company Arbor Glow would like to supply our “Glow In The Dark” Light Panels to Haiti. They will emit a steady glow for up to 15 hours after darkness. No electrical power, batteries, photocells are required.
Who and how can I contact someone..anyone.
Thank you
John
Frank Jovine
Jan 15th, 2010
John,
The Red Cross may be a way to go. That’s a terrific technology you have for the situation at hand.
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Jan 16th, 2010
its very sad that some evil people take advantages of situations like this. those people should realize the fact that its not a good thing.
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Jan 17th, 2010
It is very sad that people take advantage of others, especially in a time of need. Local grocery stores around me are collecting and at least I can feel that is is safe place to donate, as well as the Red Cross. Thanks for your post, hopefully people are smart enough to check the sources beforehand.
Michael Aulia @CravingTech.com
Jan 18th, 2010
I can’t imagine that there are people who can go this low! But again, back in my home country, most donations went into the officials’ pockets before being distributed, so yeah – we really have to be careful and do our research well
Frank Jovine
Jan 19th, 2010
Michael,
It’s a shame that these people prey on peoples hearts.
Andrew@BloggingGuide
Jan 19th, 2010
It’s so sad that there are still people without conscience and still take advantage of this sad plight. Thanks for the heads up.
Frank Jovine
Jan 20th, 2010
Andrew,
It amazes me how people can stoop so low, but this is the reality.
Havan
Jan 26th, 2010
I will share this information with my readers. Great article, thank you for sharing!
Ryan
Jan 28th, 2010
Frank,
Your warning is useful to me and my friends. I Don’t believe that those people is walk around us. but it;s real.
Ok, thank you frank, its great post.
Frank Jovine
Jan 28th, 2010
Ryan,
You are very welcome and look forward to many returns.