Tsunami Relief Scams
Have you ever heard of Marco Nula? It seems that poor Marco's parents were killed in the December 26
Tsunami disaster, or so he would have you believe. To make matters worse, Marco claims that he is
having trouble getting $3 million out of his deceased father's bank in the Netherlands.
In a scam that very closely resembles the famous Nigerian E-mail Scams, people are preying on the good-natured
people that want to help the victims of this terrible disaster. This e-mail scam showed up only one week after
the tsunami rocked Indonesia and is an example of just how opportunistic scammers can be
Spammers in general like to strike while the iron is hot. The 9/11 disaster had many scams associated with it
as well. These scams are designed to persuade people to start out by sending small sums of cash to "help" a
person in need. After the scam victim sends a little money, the person will need more due to unforeseen circumstances
that will surely arise. Bureaucracy is a terrible thing, and if you get sucked into one of these scams you will
find out just how bad it really is! Of course, people think that if they keep sending money, they will eventually
get their money back. Nothing, however, could be more wrong.
Here are some other scams related to the tsunami disaster that have been popping up on the internet and in
people's e-mail boxes:
- The FBI has received reports of Web sites that purportedly assist with collection
and relief efforts to aid survivors of the natural disaster, but these sites really steal money from unsuspecting
donors, spread computer viruses or steal personal information, an FBI statement said.
- Complaints submitted to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which works in
conjunction with the FBI, have identified several schemes including e-mails that offer, for a fee, to locate
loved ones who may have been lost in the disaster.
- Unsolicited e-mails requesting that money be deposited in overseas banks to support
the tsunami relief effort have also been reported to the FBI, as well as SPAM messages that ask for personal or
financial information in an effort to retrieve large amounts of inheritance funds tied up in relation to the tsunami.
- A fraudulent relief donation Web site that, if accessed, can infect the user's
computer with a virus has also found.
Unfortunately, scams like this and the Nigerian E-mail scam continue to exist for one simple reason - they work.
The reason the scams work is because in addition to preying on good-hearted people, they also appeal to people's
greed. People who want to get rich quick are very vulnerable to scams like this.
Here are some useful tips for people who want to give to legitimate charitable causes without being victimized by scammers:
- Never respond to any unsolicited SPAM e-mails.
- Be skeptical of individuals claiming to be surviving victims or foreign government
officials asking for help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.
- Be leery of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached
files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from know senders.
- Never send money to phone solicitors representing charities that you have never heard
of. If you want to make a donation to a cause such as relief for the tsunami victims, make it through a well-known
relief organization such as World Vision or the American Red Cross.
- Beware of charities with names similar to those to well-known charities. A good way
to make sure that a charity is real is to look it up in the phone book or even on the internet. A legitimate
charity will have tax status to match its non-profit business structure. When in doubt, investigate.
- Do not, under any circumstance, give your credit card information to unknown charities
over the telephone or to door-to-door solicitors. If you call a well-known charity on your own it is okay to give out the information.
- If a charity wants to send a courier to pick up the donation you can bet that they are
scammers. Please note that allowing this also presents a security risk to you at your residence.
Related Charity Fraud Links
www.charitywatch.org
www.charitynavigator.org
www.give.org
American Red Cross
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