A real charity donation?
Terrible events often bring out the best in people. Amidst tragedy amazing stories of courage, fortitude and generosity emerge. In our response many see a better side to humanity as we all pitch in to help, even if it is just giving to charity. Sadly this is not always so, and as sure as we see the more altruistic aspect of man, we also see the venal and greedy.
An investigation has found out that shortly after the earthquake that did so much damage to Haiti on January 12 2010 emails asking for donations started to arrive in computer user’s email in-boxes. These emails contained photos, photos like the ones that shocked the world into action, pictures of destruction, rubble, and unimaginable suffering. the recipients could help, the emails claimed, by giving to their charity.
Some of the charities it emerged were entirely made up. Upon investigation it turned out that a charity calling itself the ‘M E Foundation’ and one charity calling itself ‘Help the World’ turned out to be entirely bogus. Perhaps even more disturbing were the scam emails that cynically exploited the good name that had been built up by genuine established charities.
When making a charity donation the best way to ensure that your money goes where it is needed is to give through an recognised charity. The heartless scammers added logos of well known and respected charities such as the British Red Cross. that particular email was reported to have originated in Nigeria, a country whose name has almost become synonymous with scams and fraud.
It is however not just individuals in the Third World who are seeking to exploit both the urge to make a charity donation and also by implication those victims who are suffering. In order to make a charity donation without having that money stolen the best thing is to find the genuine website of a charity you can trust yourself, and not reply to any emails you may receive asking for money.
