ShareThisNothing separates the white hats from the black hats like disaster.
There are those whose hearts go out to the victims and those who seek to capitalize on the losses and inevitable outpouring of support.
"Not only do Americans need to be concerned about avoiding fraud, they also need to make sure their money goes to competent relief organizations that are equipped and experienced to handle the unique challenges of providing assistance," Steve Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois, said in a statement.
So what do you need to know to avoid scams as you seek to help the victims of Haiti's earthquake?
Bernas says rely on expert opinions when evaluating a charity.
There are several expert sources you can use to research a charity, including Guidestar.org, give.org and charitynavigator.org.
Technology also plays a role in giving these days.
AT&T offers customers the ability to text message a donation to the American Red Cross. The benefit is you get the money to a reliable organization with assurance from AT&T that all donated money will go directly to the charity.
Customers type the word HAITI and send it to 90999. Then a confirmation message arrives within minutes, to which the customer replies "yes" to finalize a $10 donation.
Cash often serves as the best donation. Slate.com notes, "First responders call the deluge of unsolicited goods they receive the 'second disaster,' as shipping, sorting, storing and distributing the goods takes valuable staff time away from other necessary tasks.
According to Bernas:
-- Be cautious when relying on third-party recommendations such as bloggers or other Web sites, as they might not have fully researched the listed relief organizations.
-- Be wary of claims that 100 percent of donations will assist relief victims. Despite what an organization might claim, charities have fundraising and administrative costs.
-- Be cautious about online giving, especially in response to spam messages and e-mails that claim to link to a relief organization. After the tsunami disaster in 2004, there were concerns raised about many Web sites and new organizations created overnight allegedly to help victims.
-- Find out if the charity has an on-the-ground presence in the impacted areas. Unless the charity already has staff in the affected areas, it might be difficult to get new aid workers to quickly provide assistance.
-- Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups. Some charities might be raising money to pass along to relief organizations. If so, you might want to consider "avoiding the middleman" and giving directly to charities that have a presence in the region.
-- Donate money, not food or used clothes.
(Ivan Penn can be reached at ipenn(at)sptimes.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Consumers_Edge.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
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