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Beware of scams when donating to Haitian relief efforts
EMILY C. DOOLEY TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Published: January 16, 2010
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The American Red Cross has collected more than $37 million in donations since an earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday.
Of that amount, more than $9 million was funneled to the international charity by cell-phone users who pledged $10 simply by sending text messages.
While millions have been collected for rescue and recovery operations, an untold amount will be siphoned off by scammers.
Officials in Virginia and other states already have received reports of scams, said David Clementson, director of communications for the state attorney general's office.
"Just because it's an emotional tragedy does not mean you turn off your common sense," he said. "Know that these crooks are out there trying to take your money."
Two schemes already circulating: fake charities that have names very similar to well-known organizations; and spam e-mails that link to phishing Web sites that steal your personal information.
In many spam cases, links in unsolicited Web sites will take you to real-looking sites of charities, such as the Red Cross, said Nick Newman, a computercrimes specialist with the Richmond-based National White Collar Crime Center.
"These Web sites look like the real thing, but actually they're not," Newman said.
People also should be suspicious of pleas for money on Facebook, MySpace and other social-networking Web sites.
The need is immediate, but that does not mean you need to make snap decisions, said Phil Umansky, an associate professor at Virginia Union University's Sydney Lewis School of Business and a member of the Virginia Society of CPAs.
Well-known charities, such as the Red Cross or UNICEF, are safer bets that your money will be used in the way you intended, he said.
With smaller or unknown organizations, do research to see if they have nonprofit status and resources to do the work, he said.
"You want to see if they have the resources on the ground so that they can get there and do work as efficiently as possible," he said.
Other tips: Do not make cash donations; be cautious of unsolicited attempts to get money; and be skeptical of people claiming to be victims or government officials in need of assistance.
EMILY C. DOOLEY TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Published: January 16, 2010
» 0 Comments | Post a Comment
vote
nowBuzz up!
The American Red Cross has collected more than $37 million in donations since an earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday.
Of that amount, more than $9 million was funneled to the international charity by cell-phone users who pledged $10 simply by sending text messages.
While millions have been collected for rescue and recovery operations, an untold amount will be siphoned off by scammers.
Officials in Virginia and other states already have received reports of scams, said David Clementson, director of communications for the state attorney general's office.
"Just because it's an emotional tragedy does not mean you turn off your common sense," he said. "Know that these crooks are out there trying to take your money."
Two schemes already circulating: fake charities that have names very similar to well-known organizations; and spam e-mails that link to phishing Web sites that steal your personal information.
In many spam cases, links in unsolicited Web sites will take you to real-looking sites of charities, such as the Red Cross, said Nick Newman, a computercrimes specialist with the Richmond-based National White Collar Crime Center.
"These Web sites look like the real thing, but actually they're not," Newman said.
People also should be suspicious of pleas for money on Facebook, MySpace and other social-networking Web sites.
The need is immediate, but that does not mean you need to make snap decisions, said Phil Umansky, an associate professor at Virginia Union University's Sydney Lewis School of Business and a member of the Virginia Society of CPAs.
Well-known charities, such as the Red Cross or UNICEF, are safer bets that your money will be used in the way you intended, he said.
With smaller or unknown organizations, do research to see if they have nonprofit status and resources to do the work, he said.
"You want to see if they have the resources on the ground so that they can get there and do work as efficiently as possible," he said.
Other tips: Do not make cash donations; be cautious of unsolicited attempts to get money; and be skeptical of people claiming to be victims or government officials in need of assistance.
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