If you’re one of the good hearted people who want to donate money for disaster relief in Asia, please be careful, as their are ongoing scams to bilk donors out of their money.
On eBay, sellers are hawking Pez dispensers, a gold necklace, a stuffed mouse, and a “hand-carved” Buddha statue with the promise that proceeds from the auctions will go directly to charities assisting the victims of the tsunami in Asia.
Visitors to tsunamireliefaid.com are directed to a crudely constructed Web site with photographs of those who appear to be tsunami victims and instructions urging users to send relief packages and $10 checks to a P.O. box in Germantown, Md.
As major aid agencies around the globe undertake what could be the costliest and most complex relief effort ever, the catastrophe in South Asia has also given rise to hundreds of newly born charities purporting to raise money for victims.
While the federal government has made attempts to crack down on charity fraud since September 11, 2001 – the Patriot Act increased the penalty of impersonating a Red Cross member to five years from one – and Internet users have become more savvy, phony charities are trying harder than ever to swindle donors on the Internet.
