Posts Tagged: ‘charity scams’

Scam of the day – April 16, 2013 – Boston Marathon attack scams

April 16, 2013 Posted by Steven Weisman, Esq.

The horrible events at yesterday’s Boston Marathon where two bombs were detonated, killing and maiming innocent people is bad enough, but now scammers will be taking advantage of the curiosity of people about the event to make them victims of identity theft.  Every disaster, whether it is a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina or the Japanese Tsunami or unnatural horrible events such as the shootings in Newtown Connecticut bring out the scammers who will be looking to take advantage of both the public’s curiosity and its generosity to turn them into victims of identity theft and scams.  You can expect emails and Facebook messages that promise links to unique video footage of the events that will come laden with keystroke logging malware that can steal all of the information contained in your computer that will, in turn, make you a victim of identity theft.  Even if the emails or Facebook messages appear to come from someone you know, you can never be confident that someone has not merely hacked into your friend’s email account or Facebook account.  Phony charities will also be springing up to help the victims and once again, you can be sure that the scammers will be setting up many of these charities to play on your heartstrings and steal your money.

TIPS

Never click on links or download attachments unless you are absolutely sure that they are legitimate and even then, your friends and family may be unwittingly passing on links and attachments tainted with malware.  If you have any doubts as to the source of an email or a Facebook message, contact that person at a telephone number that you know is accurate to inquire if indeed they actually contacted you as well as to check on the source of the material that they, in turn, are passing on to you.  When it comes to videos of newsworthy events, stick  with well established, legitimate websites.  You can’t trust the other material found on the Internet.  As for charities, never give to a charity unless you have confirmed both that it is a legitimate charity and that it does not use too much of its contributions for payment of salaries of executives within the charities and fund raising activities.  You can find this critical information at www.charitynavigator.org.

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Scam of the day – December 31, 2012 – Scams to watch for in the new year

December 31, 2012 Posted by Steven Weisman, Esq.

Rather than look back on this, the last day of 2012, I think it is more productive to look ahead to what scams and identity theft schemes you should be wary of in the new year.  More and more identity theft schemes will be aimed at your smart phones and portable devices.  As we all use our smart phones and portable devices for so many activities, they have become attractive targets for identity thieves who are looking to steal information from your portable devices and smart phones to make you a victim of identity theft and even though many of us would never think about leaving our computers unprotected, many of us do not sufficiently protect our smart phones and portable devices.  Check out my new book “50 Ways to Protect Your Identity in a Digital Age” for specific advice on how to protect your smart phones and portable devices.  Also, as I warned you a few days ago, there will be major hackings by botnets into American banks.  Protect your computer from being a part of a botnet and make sure that you continually follow your bank accounts to make sure that you promptly identify any breaches of security.

Every season is scam season and you can count on February bringing Super Bowl scams and Valentine Day scams.  Prior to April there will be many scams involved with filing income tax returns.  Summer will bring many vacation scams.  The early Fall will bring scams related to hurricanes and other natural disasters.  December will bring the usual holiday shopping scams and charity scams.

TIPS

Information is power.  Read “50 Ways to Protect Your Identity in a Digital Age” and “The Truth About Avoiding Scams” to arm yourself with specific information you can use to protect yourself from scams and identity theft schemes.  Also, read this blog each and every day so that you stay current with the latest scams and identity theft schemes.  And trust me, you can’t trust anyone.

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Scam of the day – December 18, 2012 – Newtown charity scams and similar charity scams

December 18, 2012 Posted by Steven Weisman, Esq.

As I warned you, the very day after the horrible shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, scammers and identity thieves will be preying upon both our best and worst instincts in response to the tragedy.  People seeking videos and photographs of the event may find themselves clicking on links that purport to provide you with such material, but may only end up downloading keystroke logging malware that will steal all of the information from the computers of the curious people who will find themselves becoming victims of identity theft.  Go back to Saturday, December 15ths “Scam of the Day” for more particulars.  The next step in scams stemming from the murders will be the pleas for charitable contributions for the victims and others similarly situated.  You should always be wary when anyone asks you for a charitable donation, but particularly when a charitable solicitation quickly follows an emotional event such as the killings in Connecticut.  You will want to make sure that you are giving to legitimate charities that will use your contribution wisely rather than giving your money to a scammer or a “legitimate” charity that misuses your donations by paying its administrator inordinately large salaries.  Particularly during this time of the year, you will likely find yourself being solicited by various police and firefighter charities.  Many of these are scams and it is important to know the difference between a legitimate charity and a phony one.

TIP

Whenever you are contacted by a charity whether by text, phone, email or otherwise, you can never be sure that the person contacting you legitimately represents the charity or that the charity itself is legitimate.  If you are charitably inclined, you should not respond directly to the person or entity soliciting you, but rather first, confirm that the charity itself is legitimate.  At this time of year there are many charities that contact you, particularly those purporting to represent firefighters and local police that are scams.  Many phony charities have similar names to legitimate charities, particularly those purporting to collect for local fire and police departments. You should always check out the legitimacy of the charity first before considering making a contribution.  A good place to find out if a charity is legitimate or merely has a name that sounds legitimate is www.charitynavigator.org.  This website also will provide you with information as to how much of the charity’s collected donations actually are applied to its charitable works and how much goes to administrative fees and salaries.  As a general rule of thumb if a charity spends more than 25% of its donations on salaries and administrative costs, you may wish to contribute to another charity.

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Scam of the day – October 11, 2012 – Think Pink Scams

October 11, 2012 Posted by Steven Weisman, Esq.

Although National Think Pink day, the national day of breast cancer awareness, will not be coming up until next week, it is not too early to warn people about the scams that will be tied to this day.  Breast cancer is a terrible scourge and many legitimate charities and foundations are soliciting contributions to assist in the fight against breast cancer.  Unfortunately, many of the contacts that you may receive through phone calls, snail mail and email may be from scammers who have no intention of using your contribution for anything other than lining their own pockets.

TIPS

Charitable phone solicitation are allowed by law even if you are on the Do-Not-Call List, but if you do receive a charitable solicitation by phone you have no way of knowing from whom it is coming and whether indeed they are legitimate or fake.  In fact, many legitimate charities hire telemarketers who are paid a portion of what they collect as a commission so if you really want more of your contribution to go to a legitimate organization, send it directly to the organization through its website or through snail mail.  You also may wish to confirm that the charity is a legitimate charity by going to www.charitynavigator.org which is  a free website that will not only tell you if the charity soliciting from you is legitimate, but also how much of its funds go toward its charitable goals and how much goes for fundraising and salaries.  Some “legitimate” charities spend an inordinate amount of money on the salaries of its officers.

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