Using email scams and fake websites, criminals use natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes, to try to defraud the public into making donations to fake charitable organizations.
Report Scams to Tip Line
The practice is so prevalent, the FBI has set up a tip line for people to use to report such scams. These scams can come in many forms - emails, websites, door-to-door collections, flyers, mailings, telephone calls, and other similar methods, according to the FBI.If you receive a fraudulent solicitation for a donation for victims of a natural disaster, report it to the National Center for Disaster Fraud, (866) 720-5721. The line is staffed by a live operator 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Email scams can be forward to disaster@leo.gov, or letters and flyers can be faxed to (225) 334-4707.
Follow These Donation Guidelines
Before you make a donation to any solicitation, you may want to consider these guidelines suggested by the FBI:
- Do not respond to any email sent from someone you do not know personally.
- Don't click on links in unsolicited email, because they could contain a virus.
- Be skeptical of anyone who represents themselves as a member of charitable organizations or officials asking for donations via email or social networking sites.
- Watch out for copy-cat names similar to but not exactly the same as those of reputable charities.
- Try to verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by searching online to confirm the group's existence and nonprofit status.
- Beware of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files. Those files may contain viruses.
- Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf.
- Be cautious if someone tries to pressure you into making contributions; reputable charities do not use such tactics.
- Be sure whom you are dealing with when providing your personal and financial information. Providing such information can you vulnerable to identity theft.
- Avoid cash donations. Pay by credit card or write a check directly to the charity. Do not make checks payable to individuals or organizations that you do not know.
- Legitimate charities do not usually solicit donations via money transfer services.
- Most legitimate charities websites end in .org rather than .com.
