Beware Of The Hurricane Katrina E-Mail Identity Theft Charity Scam

Just how low will people go. It seems there are a handful of dishonest people sending out E-Mails Requesting Donations to help the Hurricane Katrina Disaster victims. Not only will these Low Down Belly Crawling Pond Scum Steal your donation, they will steal your credit card or bank account information and often your identity.

The best way to protect yourself is never click on a link in an E-mail requesting a donation. Never send a Credit number in response to request for a donation from an E_mail. If you want to donate money to a charity to help the Hurricane Katrina Disaster relief victims do so by typing there address directly into your browser. CNN has a list of trustworthy charities that you can feel safe about donating to online (go to cnn.com/helpcenter and click on Donate & Volunteer).

Here are some safeguards to keep in mind when it comes to charitable contributions. Charities will never send you unsolicited E-Mail requesting donations. If you get a request for money from a charity in an E-mail more then likely it is an attempt to steal your Identity.

Charities will never call your phone number requesting a donation. There is a whole industry of telemarketers that raise money for charity. The Problem is the companies doing the telemarketing keep up to 90% or more and only send a small amount to the charity, If you receive a call from a telemarketer ask him what percent of the money goes to charity, They will either say they don't know or refer you to an 800 Number where your questions will be answered. You are far better off politely telling the telemarketer no and contacting the charity directly.

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