It has been said that disasters, such as the Haiti earthquake, bring out the best in people. If you have been reading my posts on governmental, U.S. military, civilian and private humanitarian and relief efforts being provided by some wonderful organizations and people to the desperate survivors in Haiti, I hope you’ll agree that this is true.
As a matter of fact, while the 2009 recession caused a decline in charitable contributions in the United States, “the outpouring of donations to Haiti has made clear [that] the charitable impulse is alive and well.”
It is a sad fact, however, that such disasters also bring out the worst in some people.
Hotscams.com reports that scammers have “sprung up from everywhere just hoping to grab some money from charity, depriving the needs of the disaster victims,” and warn that evidence of potential fraud has already surfaced.
They warn:
More than 400 Internet addresses related to Haiti have been registered since the devastating quake. The names reference Haiti and words such as “earthquake,” “help,” “aid,” “victims” and “survivors.” Many of the web addresses will likely prove legitimate, but many more will be bogus and associated with web sites that host malicious software, based on similar flurries of activity after Hurricane Katrina, the Asian tsunami and other disasters.
Scammers emerge as predictably as earthquake aftershocks following natural disasters, making it imperative for consumers to be wary of unsolicited appeals to aid victims in Haiti.
The FBI and security Relevant Products/Services experts warned on Thursday of the likelihood of scams as requests for donations start pouring in via e-mail, text message, telephone and Twitter.
Their key advice: “Look carefully before you give money or personal information, and contribute to a known group.”
And:
Those who want to send money or assistance should contribute to organizations they are familiar with and should be careful not to respond to unsolicited e-mails, according to the FBI.
One such e-mail seeking help Thursday purported to be from a lawyer in Port-au-Prince whose entire family had died and who was given just days to live himself. He asked for assistance — and cash — for distributing his family fortune.
Here are some tips from the FBI, charities and other sources to help you steer clear of aid scams:
– Don’t click on links or open attachments contained within aid-related spam, even if they claim to contain pictures of the tragedy. The attachments may be viruses.
– Check out the organization at sites for the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org); the Foundation Center (http://foundationcenter.org), a New York-based authority on philanthropy; or Charity Navigator (http://www.CharityNavigator.org), an independent nonprofit organization that evaluates charity groups based on effectiveness and financial stability.
– Examine the Web address of a purported group. Avoid ones that end in a series of numbers and be aware that most nonprofits have sites that end with .org, not .com.
– Be extremely skeptical of Web sites that ask for detailed personal information, such as your Social Security number, birth date or bank account and pin information. That may leave you vulnerable to identity theft.
I hope that these warnings will not dissuade you from giving generously—Haiti and Haitians need you badly.
However, when opening up your heart and your wallet, also open your eyes and your sense of caution.
Image: Courtesy kmc.redcross.org
