Haitian Earthquake Relief Fraud Alert - January 2010

When a natural disaster occurs, the majority of people want to help the victims by giving money to ease the suffering of those affected by the tragedy. The recent earthquake in Haiti is no different. Many legitimate websites and institutions are offering to be collection points for those that want to make donations to the relief effort. With any disaster, however, comes the opportunity for criminals to try and make a quick dollar through fraudulent activities.

In the next few weeks, you may receive a flurry of emails or see a multitude of advertisements on the web that solicit you to donate to the disaster relief fund. Several of these solicitations will be a scam. How can you tell the legitimate sites from those with fraudulent intent?

Please review the following tips offered by the FBI:

1. Do not respond to any unsolicited (SPAM) incoming emails, including clicking links contained within those messages
2. Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via email or social networking sites.
3. Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the groups' existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.
4. Be cautious of emails that claim to show photos of the disaster area in the attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
5. Make contributions directly to familiar and trusted organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.
6. Do not give personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions.

Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft. Anyone who has received an email referencing the above information or anyone who may have been a victim of this or a similar crime should notify the FBI IC3 via www.ic3.gov.

Resources for Information about SCAMS:

• Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.gov
• Office of Minnesota Attorney General www.ag.state.mn.us
• Craigslist About Scams www.craigslist.org/about/scams
• Snopes - Identifying Myths and Rumors www.snopes.com
• Better Business Bureau www.bbb.org.us