Hurricane SCAMS–How to Help Without Being Taken

(Newswire.net — September 6, 2017) Germantown, MD — It is relatively easy to make a website look and sound legitimate. Unfortunately, as millions of donation dollars pour in, many of these dollars end up lining the pockets of thieves.

The problem is so vast, in fact, the Justice Department has a special division called the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF), which investigates and cracks down on these fraudulent donation websites.

“Unfortunately, criminals can exploit disasters, such as Hurricane Harvey, for their own gain by sending fraudulent communications through email or social media and by creating phony websites designed to solicit contributions,” the statement said.

“There’s a cycle for disaster fraud,” explained Walt Green, who ran the NCDF from 2013 to 2017.

The scammers are increasingly creative. As soon as the National Weather Service announces potential names for the upcoming hurricane season, scammers scoop up website domains that relate to the hurricane. After hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, the FBI reported more than 4,600 websites advertising relief effort, most of which were fraudulent.

One of the most dastardly hurricane-related fraud cases Green recalled surrounded two individuals who registered a fake Salvation Army domain name — “salvationarmyonline.org” — the site reportedly collect nearly $50,000 USD in donations, not a dime of which went to help victims.

Here are 3 tips on insuring your heart-felt donations end up helping victims and not lining the pockets of thieves.

1.  Beware of unsolicited emails and phone calls. Never open any emails that show photos of disasters. Many of these emails contain viruses even if you do not donate. 

2. Check out the organization. There are watchdog groups like charitynavigator.org and charitywatch that rate charities based on their performance and expense ratio. 

3. Familiarity. Sites like Gofundme, your local church or other sites that you have a first hand connection to are usually safe bets. 

“I’ve decided to not only raise money where 100% of the funds go to victims, but my company is matching dollar for dollar, the first $50,000,” reported Anik Singal an entrepreneur who has set up a gofundme project.

“Right now we’re raising money for Hurricane Harvey victims in Houston, TX.  The pain they’re feeling is pretty obvious. But, we’re really focusing on the SMALL BUSINESSES and the ENTREPRENEURS who lost it all and need a hand in getting back up on their feet.  This fundraiser is specifically for them,” said Singal.

Even if you don’t know someone personally, like Anik Singal, when other well established people are supporting it, that is also a clue the charity is a good bet. In Singal’s case, he’s been endorsed by Roberty Kiyosaki, who stated, “Anik Singal is a rare young man. He truly wants to help people, spread knowledge and bring financial education to the World. He’s someone who cares, gives back and makes a difference. I love working with him and his company!”

With people like Singal helping out victims, we can rest assured, this crisis will not only be temporary, but bind more people together for a good cause. 

That’s the real silver lining. 

Ff you believe you’ve been targeted by a scammer, report it to the National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline (866-720-5721).

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