We are all aware of the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear incident that began in Japan on March 11. Our hearts go out to the individuals and families in Japan and around the world affected by the suffering. Many of us are making an effort to help by donating money or supplies to the relief effort. Unfortunately, any tragedy is an opportunity for unethical con artists to take advantage.
One of the latest rounds of scam emails does just that. There are various forms but the general theme is the same: "Please donate money to help Japan by contacting me/us at this address." There are several reminders than can prevent us all from falling prey to these and similar schemes:
- Any respectable business or organization trying to contact you would do so from an email address within the organization. For example, if an email claims to have been directed to you from the Red Cross, it should come from an email address within their website. You can find out their website by doing a simple internet search for "Red Cross." The first search result is their website, www.redcross.org. So an email from This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it would not match with their organization's domain. Be very suspicious of any email that does not come from the domain it should.
- A reputable charity would not request that you donate money by responding to an email. If such a charitable organization were to contact people
