Warning over earthquake donation scammers
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Beware of scammers as they donate money to help with earthquake response in Turkey and Syria, experts urge
Beware of scammers donating money to aid in Turkey and Syria earthquake response, experts urge.
Thousands of generous people in the UK want to support international relief efforts to help families in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes earlier this month.
But scammers prey on people’s kindness by posing as official charities, but in fact taking donations for themselves.
Helping hand: Thousands of generous people in the UK want to support international relief efforts
Online safety expert Get Safe Online expects a flood of fraudulent emails, social media posts and websites advocating donations for relief efforts or claiming to have “exclusive” videos from the disaster area.
Similar scams emerged after the earthquake in Nepal, the floods in Pakistan and hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and more recently the war in Ukraine.
Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online, says: ‘It always amazes and disgusts me that when a tragedy happens, cybercriminals use it as an opportunity to trick people into parting with their hard-earned money.
“We want to warn the public about these anticipated scams so they can make sure their money is donated to those who need it most, not to a fraudster.”
The Charity Commission for England and Wales and the Fundraising Regulator urge people to make sure charities are genuine before donating.
You can check whether a charity is legitimate by looking up its name and registration number in the charity register on the gov.uk/checkcharity website. You can visit the Disaster Emergency Committee’s official appeal at dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal.