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Haitian
Earthquake Relief
Fraud Alert
The
FBI today reminds Internet users who receive
appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti
to apply
a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those
requests.
Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with
criminal
intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable
organization
and/or a good cause.
Therefore, before making a donation of any kind, consumers should
adhere to
certain guidelines, to include the following:
- Do not respond
to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including
clicking links contained within those messages.
- Be skeptical of
individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or
officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
- Verify the
legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various
Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the
group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than
following a purported link to the site.
- Be cautious of
e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in
attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open
attachments from known senders.
- Make
contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on
others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure
contributions are received and used for intended purposes.
- Do not give your
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 e-mail referencing the above information or anyone who
may have
been a victim of this or a similar incident should notify the IC3 via http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
For further
information, please visit the FBI's Web site:
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel10/earthquake011310.htm
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