Whenever there is a disaster in the world and the donations of assistance pour in, there seems to be an influx of scams attempting to take advantage of peoples’ generosity.  Because of the earthquake in Haiti and the volume of electronic donations this week, we are providing some information to avoid charity scams and protect your credit and finances.

Keep your computer’s security systems updated.  If you have not done an Anti-Virus and/or firewall update recently, do so now.  If you have not done a hard drive back-up lately, it might be a good time to perform your back-up.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a consumer warning this week that includes the following recommendations:

Do NOT give out personal or financial information to solicitors; this includes your Social Security Number and bank account numbers.

Give donations directly to the charity, NOT to solicitors for the charity who often keep a portion of the donations for themselves.

Check out the charity before you donate at the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.

Additionally, the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team has issued a warning of potential email scams that includes information on fraudulent search engine results that may lead to malicious links.

It is always in your best interest to be cautious and diligent when doing financial transactions online.  When doing so during an emotional event, extra care is necessary to be certain that your donations and good intentions go where you want them to, and your personal financial well-being is not affected.

.