Turkey and Syria are in a state of calamity and emergency.
The two countries have been recently hit by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that left many people dead, dying, or severely injured and hundreds or even thousands more homeless and starving due to the damages inflicted to their homes.
Unfortunately, there are some that may be brave enough to use this humanitarian crisis to scam the victims of much needed donation money, preventing them from getting the help they need regardless of the urgency.
Relatives of the earthquake victims watch a search and rescue process while they fear the lost of their loved one on February 8, 2023 in Elbistan, Turkey.
What Are Donation Scams And How They Work
Donation scams, also known as charity scams and charity fraud, is a type of scam that seeks to trick people into donating money to a fake charity's creator by having them donate money to organizations that do little or no work, according to the FBI.
Although this type of scam can happen at any time, they are most prevalent when a high-profile disaster (natural ones most of the time) strikes. Criminals then use this event to their advantage to exploit people who want to help.
Regardless of what caused the scammers to appear, they appear to execute their schemes by crowdfunding and social media scams, in this case.
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According to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, this scheme works when scammers use social media platforms and crowdfunding sites to ask for donations. They could include pictures of real people to convince possible donators to send money their way, only for them to keep the money, depriving the people in need of the help they would've otherwise get.
Unfortunately, some scammers can do a great job of convincing people that they are legitimate. Sometimes, they pretend to be someone close to a victim of a natural disaster and ask friends and relatives to send money their way to help them, per Cybersecurity Connect.
Fortunately, there are no active scams that mentions the earthquake that affected Turkey and Syria, according to Johannes B. Ullrich, Ph.D., Dean of Research at the SANS Technology Institute,
How To Avoid Donation Scammers
Regardless of Doctor Ulrich's report, though, people who wish to help should still be wary of potential scams on the internet. To avoid them, here are some tips for you to do so:
- Only give your donations to established charities or groups that you know and trust
- If you have a relative that was affected by the earthquake, call them directly instead and ask how to send help to them.
- Beware of organizations with copycat names or names similar to established and reputable ones.
- Use the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) resources to deterine if the charity you wish to give your donations to has a reputable track record.
- Scammers may target people with links to the affected region. As such, be careful with phone calls or emails from people asking for money on behalf of a relative or friend.
- Don't let anuyone rush you into making a donation - a sense of urgency is what scammers what to give you to pressure you into sending money to them ASAP, per the FTC.
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