Inevitably, there is bad in the world — some of it evil, perpetuated by evil people, some of it just bad, caused by natural or man-made events, but without malice. In the wake of another evil act here in the U.S., we are also starting hurricane season, the time when we face the strong likelihood of natural disasters as well. Yet another situation we face following any tragedy is that of scammers taking advantage of the generosity and caring of people.
It never seems to fail. In the wake of a hurricane, tornado or even man-made event, pleas for help go out and people respond. While this represents the best in people and is absolutely wonderful, many of these awesome deeds and donations can easily end up in the hands of scammers. For this reason, it is important that we help the people who need it, not the unscrupulous people who prey on good people. As humans, when we are in a state of high emotions, we can easily overlook signs of misrepresentation that we would otherwise spot easily. This is why they go on the attack after a major, heart-wrenching attack.
If motivated to help the victims of these events, we should be cautious indeed. If the request for help comes from an unsolicited email or a social media post, care should be taken to ensure the organization is legit. A quick web search will often turn up information about the charity and help guide you past the scams. See if there are recent Form 990 tax records filed (for U.S.-based charities) and look for financial reports that can show how much actually goes to the victims. If the charity is well-known to you already, it still pays to be careful by browsing straight to the charity’s website rather than clicking on a link in a post or email. If the charity is raising money to help, you can bet there will be a mention of it on their website along with instructions on how to donate securely.
While tragedy will occur in this world, we can ensure that the intrinsic good from people can prosper by taking a few moments to make sure our help goes to those who need it, not scammers or cybercriminals.