New scams try to cash in on war, relief efforts
By Sandra Block
USA Today
Within days after the bombs began to fall in Iraq, the phones started ringing in Charlotte, N.C. The callers claimed to represent the American Red Cross or the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and they said they were raising money for members of the military. They didn't want cash or checks, just a credit card number.
The fund-raising effort was bogus. The callers had no connection to the Red Cross or VFW, says Tom Bartholomy, president of the Charlotte Better Business Bureau. And because the callers demanded a credit card number, the business bureau fears individuals who made contributions will become victims of identify theft.
Similar schemes are popping up across the United States, says Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer for the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.
Some common scams:
• Copycat charities. Some con artists use names that sound like those of well-known charities in an effort to confuse potential donors. In San Diego, questionable organizations used names similar to those for disabled veterans, homeless veterans or war orphans to raise money, the BBB says.
You can find a link to legitimate military relief organizations at the Wise Giving Alliance's Web site, www.give.org.
• Humanitarian appeals. Iraqi citizens are desperate for food, clean water and medical supplies, and many legitimate organizations are raising money to help. But the crisis also has attracted fraudulent outfits looking for a piece of the action.
Look for a charity that has a strong track record of humanitarian aid. Give directly to the charity, not a third party that claims to be collecting money on its behalf. The American Institute of Philanthropy, a watchdog organization that analyzes charities, lists its top-rated humanitarian charities at www.charitywatch.org.
If you are approached by an unfamiliar charity, ask the organization to mail you information about its finances and programs. All legitimate charities will honor such a request, Weiner says.
You also can investigate a charity's missions, programs and finances at www.guidestar.org, an online database of more than 850,000 charities and nonprofit organizations.
• Requests for goods. Be wary of organizations that solicit clothes, canned goods and other items to send to Iraq, Weiner says. Most legitimate charities prefer monetary donations because it's much less expensive for them to buy needed supplies overseas than ship them from the United States, he says.
"Even well-intentioned efforts in this regard can go awry," Weiner says. "Don't give in to something that may be very impractical and not useful at all."
• Urgent assistance needed. This e-mail claims an Iraqi oil heir has $12.5 million in cash and needs assistance spiriting it out of Baghdad. All you have to do is forward details of your bank account, and the wealth will be yours. Sound familiar? It's an updated version of a Nigerian spam e-mail designed to fleece the gullible.
The conflict in Iraq also has sparked a bonanza of war-related products, ranging from patriotic T-shirts to teddy bears. Some promoters claim they'll donate a portion of the proceeds to military families, veterans groups or other charities.
In many cases offers for such products are vague about who will receive the money, or how much of the profits will go to charity.
The American Red Cross recently sent a cease and desist order to an online marketer that told customers a portion of T-shirt sales would go to the Red Cross, spokeswoman Devorah Goldburg says. The company didn't realize it needed permission to make such a claim, she says.
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox recently charged a Michigan company that makes patriotic coins with misleading potential buyers. The company's Web site promised to donate a coin to a member of the military for every one that is sold.
The Internet promotion was deceptive because it implied the coin was struck by the U.S. Mint in honor of the war, says Sage Eastman, a spokesman for Cox. The coins were Kennedy half dollars decorated with patriotic images, Eastman says. The company "is clearly playing off people's emotions, and trying to profit from the war," he says.
