Katrina scams, frauds abundant after disaster

The public has come together in recent weeks in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster by donating relief goods, sending volunteers, opening up shelters and most importantly opening their wallets in response to this very important cause.

However, not everyone shares the same kind of compassion for these tragedies and many more that preceded Katrina such as the 2004 Tsunami Disaster in Asia and Sept. 11.

However sickening this may sound, some people actually thrive on this compassion for malicious purposes. They see it as an economically sound opportunity. In short, while most people see tragedy and need, scam artists see dollar signs.

“It’s a shame that anyone would take advantage of people like that. It speaks volume about their moral upbringing. It makes you worried about donating. You don’t know if it’s going to the right place but we do it anyway even with all the risks because we need to help them,” Justin Haight, a freshman, said.

Web sites claiming to be charitable and legitimate have been plaguing the internet soon after the Hurricane Katrina tragedy struck the nation. Phishing scams, government benefit frauds, insurance frauds and identity thefts among many others have been popping up faster than FBI officials can look them up.

Scambusters.org provides an extensive list of information about Hurricane Katrina scams.

Phishing scams, one of the most popular form charity fraud, are usually sent through E-mail. It tricks people into giving away private information to a bogus source. Many of them look like a legitimate letter from a financial institution, businesses, religious organizations or charities that requests vital information that can lead to identity theft or to a fraudulent website.

Scam artists have made it easy for donors to make easy mistakes that a person might not notice. A lot of these fraudulent websites have misspelled names. A good example of these misspelled websites is katrinareleif.com. Some scam artists also use the number “1″ instead of the letter “1″ such as the case of paypa1.com instead of the real paypal.com Indeed, these websites are bogus. Scam Artists have also replicated many Websites. The most popular replicated website is Red Cross.

Chad McDonald, Chief Information Officer at GC&SU, said “No legitimate and reputable business will E-mail you in this manner. If you are unsure if the E-mail is legitimate, use the phone. Call the party that E-mailed you, but make sure that you get the contact phone number from a source other than E-mail.”

The best way to make sure that every penny donated goes to a legitimate institution is to use common sense. Almost all e-mails asking for solicitation are bogus. McDonald advises not to open these e-mails and especially not to open the attachments that come with it. Many of them carry computer viruses such as the Trojan virus that could hack into personal information and can be used to steal identity. If in doubt of the legitimacy of the request call the organization.

Another way to avoid scams is to donate to well known organization. The Department of Homeland Security’s website, www.dhs.gov, offers a direct link to a list of legitimate organizations and charities.

Most importantly, ask questions and research about the organization before giving any monetary donation. This is even more vital if they are new or not as well-known. Look past the fancy letter heads and glossy brochures.

McDonald added, “If you fall victim, notify public safety, or the police immediately. And never E-mail bank or credit information for a donation”.

When asked about the risks of donating money to the victims of Hurricane Katrina disaster, Ajayi Monell, Political Science major said, “I’d still donate money because we have to help those in need. However, I will check and make sure that it is going to the right places by researching the charities I want to donate to or donating it to a reputable one. You have to be careful about and be aware”.

If suspicious of a bogus organization or activity that target the solicitation of funds for the victims of the Hurricane Katrina or for any other purposes, contact Chad McDonald, Chief Information Officer at GC&SU, at chad.mcdonald@gcsu.edu or file a report at www.IC3.gov.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 30 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry