Lessons Learned From KatrinaWithin hours of the announcement of Haiti’s devastation, cell phone text messages delivered options to millions of Americans soliciting relief donations. According to Mobile Giving Foundation, within 36 hours, donations made via mobile phones for Haiti earthquake relief surpassed $7 million – compared to $400,000 raised after Hurricane Katrina. Many gave without a second thought, but hopefully many more stopped to at least consider if this was a valid and legitimate charitable donation, or one that would only relieve the pain of a scam artist.
In the aftermath of Katrina, devastating California fires, and of course, the 2004 tsunami, BBB watched lessons learned at the expense of good, caring people who ultimately responded to fraudulent charity pleas and scams. The FBI reported after Hurricane Katrina the government “counted more than 4,000 Web sites promoting relief services with many of them fake.”
As of January 14, hundreds of Internet addresses returned results for “Haiti.” But within three days of the Haitian earthquake, BBB, FBI, and the media launched fraud alert campaigns to help you make wise decisions for your charitable donations.
Tread carefully when considering urgent pleas for donations or you may find yourself on shaky ground. Tips for charitable giving:
- Avoid charities you’re never heard of. Now’s not the time to respond to solicitations from charities bearing no track record/history, those who have no reliable third-party review and endorsement (such as bbb.org), or those whose website popped up January 13th.
- Ignore unsolicited e-mail requests for donations. Without doing your homework, you do not know whether the e-mail or links are valid and remember, phishing is #1 tool for identity theft and clicking on unknown links can lead to the spread of viruses and malware in your computer. If you already have a relationship with a specific charity and you receive an email – just call them or visit their web site (by going to new browser page) and verify the solicitation. Get the number or site on your own – don’t use the links or contacts provided in the email.
- Ignore or carefully, cautiously scrutinize telemarketers. Remember, professional fundraisers charge the charity for their services so right off the bat, some portion of your contribution is going to cover these costs. And, if the person says they are a victim . .. . well, avoid the emotional plea as it is very unlikely that at this time, that logically can occur.
- Don’t send money to a foreign bank account. Pay by credit card if possible (you can dispute charges in the event of fraud). Never give your personal or financial information (think identity theft).
Three days later, here is a sampling of relief scams shared by official agencies, media and well, simple blogging (which were not authenticated).
- Haiti Aid through PayPal – money request email from PayPal for $5 donation from a gmail account.
- Email Spam – subject line “Make Your Donations Now” from British Red Cross Society with standard spelling errors and directions to Western Union money
- Email Spam from Haiti Disaster Response Agency – email originating from Canadian university web mail server. The email address used to send the message doesn’t match the address for donation.
Reliable resources:
www.bbb.org/us/haiti-earthquake-relief/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
www.american.redcross.org/supporthaiti
Every penny counts these days – don’t line the scam artist’s pockets with your goodwill! Please give with your heart and we’ll talk soon! Angie
