September
1 , 2005 -- Web sites claiming to collect donations
for Hurricane Katrina victims. Phony e-mails pretending
to solicit money from well-known charities. Online auctions
of Internet domain names with Katrina-related addresses,
such as "katrinaourtsunami.com."
Less than two days
after the hurricane, Internet opportunists are already trying
to cash in on public sympathy for Katrina's victims.
Within the past 24
hours, several Web sites have emerged, promising to forward
money to relief workers. Bearing such names as Katrinahelp.com,
katrinadonations.com and katrinarelief.com, the sites ask
for money to be sent through Paypal, but there is no way
to verify who is getting the money.
eBay late yesterday
halted an online auction of several Katrina-related Web
site names, such as "ourtsunami2005.com." Bidding was to
start at $15,000, and the seller promised to deliver half
of the final winning bid amount to the American Red Cross.
eBay allows sellers to dedicate a portion of their profit
to charities but requires the seller to either sign up for
eBay's own giving program or obtain permission from the
charity first. Red Cross officials said no permission had
been granted, and eBay said it terminated the auction because
the seller did not observe rules on charitable giving.
After last year's
tsunami in South Asia, a survey by MasterCard International
and security firm NameProtect Inc. found more than 170 tsunami-related
scam sites being used to siphon donations to relief efforts.
Using a technique known as "phishing," sites or e-mails
pretend to represent a legitimate company, such as a credit
card firm, to get consumers to post personal information
such as a credit card number or bank account.
Yesterday, FBI spokesman
Paul Bresson said the agency was investigating reports of
fraudsters using e-mail and Web sites to impersonate legitimate
fundraising and relief organizations.
"People who want
to make a donation or contribute to a cause should actively
seek out reputable organizations and then contact them by
telephone or by typing their Web address into a Web browser,"
Bresson said. "The important point is that they initiate
this contact on their own."
Federal Trade Commission
spokeswoman Claudia Bourne-Farrell said people should never
click on any link in an e-mail solicitation because they
may end up at a site that looks real but is set up by identity
thieves to get confidential information. "If you get an
e-mail from the Red Cross, close the e-mail and go to the
Red Cross Web site as you otherwise would," through a search
engine, phone or regular mail, she said.
It's not just solicitations consumers
should worry about. Security experts also caution computer
users to remain vigilant against e-mails claiming to contain
attached photos of the disaster because clicking on such
files could launch viruses or worms.
Fraud watchers
said Americans who want to make contributions should stick
to Web sites of established national charities. The Web
site for the Federal Emergency Management Agency www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18473
also lists a number of Web sites where people can securely
send donations to legitimate charities, as does www.give.org
part of the charity-monitoring service of the Better Business
Bureau.
Art Taylor, president
of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, said
consumers shouldn't
be in a hurry to contribute.
"Be careful about new charities that spring up overnight.
They may have good intentions, but they don't have the means
or experience to deliver aid. And there's no need to feel
you need to do something immediate. What charities can possibly
be on the ground right now providing services? We can barely
get soldiers and other relief people into the area to help.
You have time to be deliberative and think through how you
want to help. Check out the organization first."
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
