SCAMPATROL

[jez]

Yes, scammers will sink so low as to take vital support from the Asian tsunami victims!

At a time when the world is locked on to the horror of this tragedy, the scumbag scammers are happy to exploit the goodwill and concern of the many millions keen to donate money to help desperate victims. Within two days of the disaster, scam emails claiming to be collecting donations to help the tsunami victims were arriving in our inboxes.

How to tell if the email you’ve received is genuine

Charities do not spam! If you receive an unsolicited email from a charity you have not heard of, be extremely cautious. Use Google to check the name.

Check the email address. Genuine charities will NOT use a free email account, such as yahoo or hotmail; scammers will.

How are donations to be sent? Genuine charities will NOT ask for donations to be made by Western Union! However, be aware that a lot of the scammers are now providing bank account details to enable money to be transferred directly; this does NOT mean the request is from a genuine organisation.

If in any doubt, post the details of the email on this forum and get an expert opinion. Or simply delete it! There are many recognised channels through which you can donate to genuine organisations. Click here for a list of charities on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4131881.stm

Remember, any money handed to the scammers is valuable aid denied to the real victims.

[Captain Igloo]

I'd like to add Médecins Sans Frontières to the list of legit organisations deserving support.

EDIT: They now have suspended their appeal for funds specific to the indian ocean floods. Please consider a generic donations for their work in other parts of the world anyway.