Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings is warning citizens to be on the lookout for unsolicited appeals for donations, especially cash donations, to support the massive earthquake recovery and relief efforts on the island nation of Haiti.
During times of national and international disasters predators are quick to rise to the occasion and produce internet sites and distribute mass emailings that ask for money to support relief efforts. Some of the scams ask that persons making donations provide credit card numbers or other personal banking information that would enable the thieves to quickly steal money or drain a bank account. The Sheriff’s Office has produced a web page with information, also in Creole, on donating cash and materials to the Haitian relief effort.
www.ocso.com/CrimePrevention/HaitianRelief/tabid/197/Default.aspx
www.ocso.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=t%2bqB%2b5mqODM%3d&tabid=197
While it is not the intent of the Sheriff’s Office to diminish the heartfelt goodwill of the countless Americans who wish to assist in this most worthy endeavor we want to ensure that the hard earned money of those wishing to assist does not wind up in the hands of criminals. The Sheriff’s Office advises citizens to make their donations through their churches or social organizations that they are personally involved in. Several legitimate organizations assisting in Haiti’s relief effort are provided on the agency’s web page.
We offer you the following tips from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
that will help you avoid being the victim of a “donation scam.”
· 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 using 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.
