The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not be current. This website may contain links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; we do not recommend or endorse the contents of any third-party sites. Readers of this website should contact their attorney, accountant or credit counselor to obtain advice with respect to their particular situation. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or not act on the basis of information on this site. Always seek personal legal, financial or credit advice for your relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney or advisor can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective employers.
Credit.com receives compensation for the financial products and services advertised on this site if our users apply for and sign up for any of them. Compensation is not a factor in the substantive evaluation of any product.
Five years of conflict in Syria have displaced more than half of that country’s population of 22.85 million, and, according to Amnesty International, more than 4 million Syrian refugees have fled to five countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
An increase in news coverage of people scrambling to cross European borders — and the trauma they experience en route — has recently caught Americans’ attention, amplifying calls for help. Making monetary donations is among the easiest and most effective ways people can contribute to humanitarian relief efforts, but that presents a challenge: How do you know your money is going to where it can best be used?
Those looking to donate have a lot of options, but among the organizations working on the ground to support people who have fled Syria are people with no intention other than to steal money. It happens whenever there’s a disaster or crisis grabbing global headlines: Scammers capitalize on the attention and motivation people have to give money to those in need by setting up fake charities to receive donors’s well-intentioned but misdirected funds.
The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance issued a warning to consumers this week:
“Tragedies generate public sympathy but unfortunately also attract scam fund raising efforts,” said H. Art Taylor, president and CEO of BBB WGA, in a news release. “We are reminding contributors to be on the lookout for questionable solicitors and recommend that they focus giving efforts on charities that already have a presence in the impacted areas.”
Their tips include:
Remember that charitable donations are often tax-deductible, so keep records of your payments. It’s worth the effort to research before donating, because sending money to a scammer not only wastes your money, it could expose you to cyberattacks or further scams, which could lead to financial losses or identity theft. If you’re worried you’ve already compromised your identity by giving sensitive information like your Social Security number to a scammer, you can pull your credit reports for free at AnnualCreditReport.com to see if any new accounts you don’t recognize appear in your name. You can also monitor your credit scores for free on Credit.com on a monthly basis to check for signs of fraud.
Image: iStock
October 19, 2023
Identity Theft and Scams
May 17, 2022
Identity Theft and Scams
May 20, 2021
Identity Theft and Scams