After a major disaster like the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, millions ofpeople go online to find out how they can help. But, sadly, scam artists alsogo online to try to take advantage of the tragedy to divert much neededcontributions into their own coffers.
“Unfortunately,” said Norman Wright, of the Northwest Florida BetterBusiness Bureau, “we’ve seen time and time again that scammers will try to takeadvantage of the generosity of the public after a disaster.” Wright urgespeople to “take your time and do your research before donating to reliefefforts.”
Look Up the Charity
The BBB is one of many organizations that operates a charity research tool.Other sources of information about charities include Charity Navigatorand GuideStar. The Huffington Post hasinformation and website links for several reputablecharities involved in quake relief.
Don’t Click on Email Links
Avoid clicking on any links in solicitations for money, even if they appearto come from an organization you know and trust. In most cases, emailsolicitations are scams. If you want to give to that or any other organization,locate their actual web address and type that in, or look for them on a searchengine. But also be careful about search engine results. Again, don’t give toorganizations that you don’t know or haven’t checked out, regardless of howlegitimate they may appear to be.
Report Fraud
If you do get what appears to be a fraudulent solicitation, report it tothe National Center for Disaster Fraud. You can also report tothe InternetCrime Complaint Center.