Avoiding online charity scams

The harrowing images of victims of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in the impoverished island nation of Haiti on Tuesday have left many wondering how they can most effectively contribute money to help. Unfortunately, with any urgent call for donations often comes a rash of scams that can pilfer cash or result in identity theft.

"Whenever there is a major natural disaster, be it home or abroad, there are two things you can count on," Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance president Art Taylor said in a release on the organization's Web site. "The first is the generosity of Americans to donate time and money to help victims, and the second is the appearance of poorly run and in some cases fraudulent charities." The FBI has also put out a release warning Internet users of scams.
Map and flag of Haiti.

Map and flag of Haiti.
(Credit: U.S. State Department)

"After Hurricane Katrina, it was reported that there were some 4,000 bogus Web sites (for donation), and in that disaster we knew in advance that it was coming, so some of those Web sites even popped up before the hurricane hit, but you're certainly seeing the same effect today," said Sandra Miniutti, director of marketing for Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofit Web site dedicated to evaluating the quality of nonprofits and disseminating information about the best ways to donate, in an interview with CNET. Charity Navigator has amassed its own list of recommended nonprofits for Haiti, ranging from Doctors Without Borders to the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

But the days of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 already seem like an eon ago, technologically speaking. The charity world has turned many of its operations to new media, so there's a host of new platforms for donations--PayPal, text messages, Facebook applications--that can make a scammer more difficult to spot, and social media's lightning-fast viral channels can make a scheme spread even more quickl.