New round of scams emerge for donating to Ukraine - here's how to spot them
Online scams abound to snare Ukraine donations - here's how to spot them
News out of the war in Ukraine triggered a bevy of fake charity websites preying on your generosity. Here are just a few examples ESET researchers spotted -- heartfelt appeals that say they need your help, but they really just want your hard-earned money (pictured in thumbnail).
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News out of the war in Ukraine triggering a bevy of fake charity websites preying on your generosity. Here are just a few examples ESET researchers spotted -- heartfelt appeals that say they need your help, but they really just want your hard-earned money.
You can't stop cybercriminals, but Laura Blankenship from the Eastern Michigan Better Business Bureau showed some easy ways to spot the scams.
"Something to think about as well, can the charity get to the impacted area," she said. "Sometimes people want to send clothing and food, but sometimes you have to find out if that is realistic right now."
Blankenship says to find out if the charity has workers in the impacted or war-torn region. When it comes to donating overseas, she says to try to avoid crowdfunding sites or GoFundMe accounts where the money goes to a person, instead of a charity.
It may look like a familiar established organization - but look closely - scammers could take out one word in order to dupe you into donating. Before you pull out that debit card - she says do your research.
"The Better Business Bureau has something called, 'The Wise Giving Alliance,'" she said. "You can go to Give.org and look up a charity there. You can also check the legitimacy, you can also go to Charity Navigator. That is a great way to see if a charity is legitimate."
Be wary of anyone or any site that asks you to wire money or send gift cards. Be skeptical of social media posts unless you already contacted the organization to verify it is legitimate - and look for signs that the site itself is safe.
"You want to make sure at the top of the page that it says it is secure," Blankenship said. "That there is a locked symbol, that https - the s stands for secure, and make sure there are working links and there is an address or contact information."
And if you suspect something isn't right, contact the charity directly with questions. But if it doesn't look right, use your intuition.
Online resources:
Websites like the one pictured are fake, designed to prey on your good will. There are actual charities that are legitimate, however.