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FBI Warns: Many Tsunami Relief Pleas Are Fake
lgrinberg writes "Even in the face of terrible disasters such as the Tsunami that hit South East Asia and Africa in late December, many are finding ways to take advantage of it and make money off of it. An example is fake websites that claim to be non-profit charitable organizations that help out the victims when they really take all the money for themselves. Other instances are emails or websites written by people who claim to be survivors of the disaster and are asking for help. The FBI warns that many of these are fake and recommends people to help via known non-profit organizations."
Why do dumb/naive people keep falling for scams like this? Each disaster these scams pop up, each time the public is warned about them, but it still works..
Is there some sort of university program I'm not aware of, pumping out mindless peons by the thousands each year so they can make the same mistake as others did last year? Apart from Hamburger University of course..
Then again, University of Miami law professor Enrique Fernandez-Barros somehow managed to become part of a 419 scam in which $1.68 million got lost...
SCO employee? Check out the bounty
According to Allan Nairn, a journalist who's been an Indonesia eyewitness for decades, most of even the legitimate aid money is funneled through governments like the Indonesian, which then funds further attacks on any surviving, devastated populations of these resource-rich "rebellious" regions. Nairn does recommend ETAN, which funnels aid to the indigenous "PCC" relief org - which seems the most conscionable course, at least until someone blows the whistle on them.
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It seems that fraudulent claims in the wake of disaster are becoming commonplace. During 9/11 there were many scams and fake pleas for disaster relief. Such claims are no different than denying people the help that they need. In a way, it's almost like a DOS attack against victims.
This is one of those "ounce of prevention vs. pound of cure" things. If we spend a little bit of money up front to put out TV and radio advertisements, it seems that the government would have to spend far less money investigating these assholes and helping victims of this sort of fraud. If K-12 schools taught kids how to detect online b.s. and community colleges featured this sort of instruction as part of entry-level computer classes, it could go a long way toward minimizing the negative economic impact of the broad range of Internet fraud.
But of course current thinking in the United States is an extreme form of caveat emptor, so I'm just engaging in wishful thinking.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
It will be interesting to see how the FBI deals with "muslim" charities it has identified as terror funding conduits, as their pipes are filled with donations from Muslims (and others) targeting the huge Muslim communities devastated by the quake and tsunami. Will the FBI reveal that some Muslim posers are ripping off virtuous donating Muslims, stealing lifesaving aid to instead fund suicide bombers in their jihad? When some are revealed, how will Muslim leaders around the world react? Will some of the leaders who are complicit with the funders find a way to blame the FBI, and America, for their own sins? And will the US government find a way to frame legitimate Muslim charities with fake charges of this kind of fraud, fueling the counter-jihad crusade? God only knows - god certainly isn't doing anything to stop it.
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How would I know where their money goes? They refuse to file financial reports like most charities by claiming a religious exemption. I demand transparency before any charitable organization reasonably expect any cash from me.
The AIP did eventually get the Salvation Army to do some disclosure, but it was back in 1998. But other religious charities, like Christian Aid regularly release their financial statements without a hassle.
Charities exist in a privilaged place in tax law that can easily be abused. So, with the privilage of not paying taxes, charities need to be transparent with their finances. The Salvation Army's use of religious exemption is unacceptable.
Yeah, nothing like giving money to people whose primary objective is spreading religion. I prefer to give my money to organisations that spread food, water and shelter and don't spend valuable time corrupting and destroying cultures.
Assist those in acute need, and let them make their own decisions and help them help themselves in working out of chronic troubles.
It's really odd when I think about it, but a personal message put out over the internet reached me far deeper than our President's cynical call for (bank) aid, or my church's call for extra donations in the collection basket, or the endless streams of impersonal pleadings that I've seen on television. I guess that's the real power of the internet to raise money... the personal touch... and if some goes astray (as I feel in my gut that it will) I feel much less disgusted with myself for my action.
I had a psych professor that defined it this way: "A psychopath is a person that doesn't know right from wrong, and a sociopath is a person that does know right from wrong but just doesn't care."
Psychopaths are more dangerous in some ways but are easier to spot (the obligatory chainsaw is a dead giveaway.) Sociopaths, on the other hand, generally do more damage overall because they are very good at protective coloration (i.e., "fitting in") making them very difficult to detect. Significantly, the more capable sociopaths in most societies achieve a degree of success that is denied to their more "moral" counterparts. Frequently we see monikers such as "head of state" or "corporate leader" applied to them, at least up until the arraignment.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
I would suggest that people split their donations among two or more charities. That way, it is less likely that their money will be stuck due to logistics.
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Personally, I usually go with Red Cross & Catholic Relief Services.. And please, no argument about donating to a religious charity, it's my choice.
In the back of my mind there is always the fear that some self-righteous warlord will object to US charities helping those he considers his people, so I sometimes lean to charities not directly associated with the US.
There is too much politics in the world... witness the "US is stingy, not giving enough" followed by the "US is giving too much, they want to buy friends in the area" soap operas. No matter what you do, you can never win with some idiots. I understand that people are frustrated, but some people should just shut the f*ck up and tend to the tragedy instead of playing politics!
And what the hell is with Kofi Annan and all these idiots (yes, US too) who must "tour" the devastated areas. What the hell can they contribute?
It makes me sick... Middle-eastern countries, rich in oil, are contributing crap, and they are supposed to look out for their "muslim brothers". Saudi Arabia, $30 mil? The royal family has this much change in their couch cushions!
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/159/story_15913_
Quotes:
"In her January 1 op-ed in Jordan's Addustour, Ayida al-Najjar wonders whether the tsunami left an opening for America to "wash its face and appear cleaner, more sincere, and beautiful" to the Islamic world. The U.S. may see its aid to the Indian Ocean nations as a remedy for the political ruptures its foreign policies have created in the Islamic world"
"Tapping into some of the wild rumors that are circulating around the Internet, in English and Arabic, Mahmud al-Busayfi wondered in Libya's al-Jamahiria on January 4 whether the tsunami was "a reactionary result of the terrible American bombing in Afghanistan and Iraq?" "
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/review/article
Yes, whining about Bush taking 3 days to work the logistics, but not a word about Mr. Annan continuing his vacation for three days after the tsunami hit..
True. Also worth supporting long term initiatives like the this one proposed by Gordon Brown and Tony Blair to the G8.
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Well, I think god would be most pleased if people learnt how to spell altar in the first place.
Only then would he demand one made from expensive materials.
Or a shrubbery.
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. -- G.B. Shaw
A few days ago I checked my Gmail and found a tsunami plea in my spam box. After enabling the graphics, I was pleased to see the actual charity whose name was being used realized one of their graphics was linked in the phishing email. So they changed it! Here is the result. Very clever. They deserve a donation for doing this, if nothing else.
Apparently Scientologists are already spamming for money to send their books to the area.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
The Salvation Army is an integral part of the Christian Church, although distinctive in government and practice. The Army's doctrine follows the mainstream of Christian belief and its articles of faith emphasise God's saving purposes. Its objects are 'the advancement of the Christian religion... of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole.'