Hurricane Katrina Scams: Updated Friday September 9, 2005

Many different types of Hurricane Katrina scams are already making the rounds -- find out what they are, how to protect yourself, and how you can help...

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, we wanted to remind you that whenever there is a major natural or other disaster, scammers begin sending out charity relief scams within just a couple of hours!

Online scammers continue to join the looters as more of the Hurricane Katrina scams we predicted are making their way around the Net.

NEW: We're seeing about four times as many scams as we saw with the tsunami disaster. (This is anecdotal, not scientific -- it's based on the volume of scams we saw then and now.)

NEW: In fact, the main story last night on the CNN home page was titled "FBI: Hurricane relief Internet scams proliferate." According to FBI assistant director Louis M. Reigel, by mid-day Thursday, there were 2,300 Katrina-related sites, double the number two days eariler. Of the 800 the FBI had investigated, 60% were presumed to be bogus.

NEW: Although we certainly weren't surprised at how quickly these scams started to spread, we have been surprised by the scope and variety of Katrina scams. We describe the main ones below.

Types of Hurricane Katrina Scams

NEW: With all of the devastation, we are seeing many kinds of scams specific to Hurricane Katrina. We find the first three to be the most prevalent and the most serious:

1. Phishing scams: As described above, many fraudulent websites have already been set up pretending to be legitimate Hurricane Katrina relief organizations. These sites request charitable donations, but in fact steal financial information and may be used for identity theft as well. Contributions, of course, go into the pockets of the scammers rather than to help people who desperately need it.

NEW: Here's an example:
--- Begin Phishing Scam

Please donate to Hurricane Relief Efforts. We have seen
the horrible destruction this past week that was caused
by natural causes. Our hearts and prayers go out to those
affected by Hurricane Katrina. If you'd like to help we
encourage you to make a generous donation to the
American Red Cross. Thank You for your compassion.

[bogus but legitimate sounding domain name listed here]

--- End Phishing Scam

2. Viruses and trojans: Spam is sent that includes photos of disaster areas or individual survivors, and these attachments contain computer viruses. For example, the Trojan, Cgab, is now related to a Hurricane Katrina email that is making the rounds. It provides full access to the victim's PC. According to CNN Money, the email headlines include: "Re: g8 Tropical storm flooded New Orleans" and "Re: g7 80 percent of our city underwater."

3. NEW: Variants of the Nigerian fee scam: unsolicited email (spam) is sent with the supposed purpose of retrieving large amounts of money tied up in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. We were surprised that it took over a week to start seeing these scams. Here is one example:

--- Begin Nigerian Scam

Subject: FROM [name deleted]:LETS ASSIST HURRICANE KATRINA VICTIMS

Dear Beloved Sister& Brother In Christ,
I am Mrs [name deleted] from Netherlands. I am married to Dr. [name deleted] who worked with an oil servicing company in Gambia. It is by the grace of God that I received Christ through a crusade programme in Gambia,knowing the truth and the truth have set me free. I had no choice than to do what is lawful and right in the sight of God for eternal life and in the sight of man for witness of God´s mercy and glory upon my life We were married for twenty-seven years without a child. He died during a youth riots in one of the oil flow station region.He was held hostage and slain to death by protesting youths of the region. Before his death we were both Living christians.My late husband acquired a considerable sum of money through his resourcefulness and effectiveness during his stay in Gambia These money are currently lodged in a finance institution in Europe. I am desperately in need of your assistance and guidance in the dispatch of these money for the sole purpose of ameliorating the suffering of thousands of sick, poor and down trodden individuals ecumenically Especially victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans,usa.I was recently diagnosed with cancer of the lungs and the doctors have made it absolutely lucid that this disease is terminal. The doctors were not exact about how long I have to live but I am in the know that the disease has ravaged my body and left me at the mercy of endless cocktail of drugs been administered to me. The drugs have gone a long way in alleviating the pains, but I still feel my life gradually ebbing away. I do not have any existing family member to assist me in procuring these money before the stipulated time. I established this contact with you solely out of need and desperation,concern for victims in distress. I will ask that you inform me of your decision to assist or decline, please ensure that you make your decision based on nobility and humanity.Your assistance will remain forever invaluable and beneficial to thousands of children across the world. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated herein.

I await your urgent reply.

Yours in Christ,

[name deleted]
N.B:LETS TEAM TOGETHER TO HELP THE HURRICANE KATRINA IN NEW ORLEANS NOW,TOMMORROW MIGHT BE YOUR TURN!GOD BLESS YOU.

--- End Nigerian Scam

4. Investment and security scams: According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), emails are already making the rounds that tout specific stocks on the basis of activity related to Hurricane Katrina.

For example, one email says that investors could more than double their money in just days on certain penny stocks because of "refinery glitches."

5. Misleading emails trying to take advantage of the disaster to sell unrelated products:

Here's an example of an email that was just trying to sell Viagra:

--- Begin scam email ---

Subject: Re: 80 percent of our city underwater.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Tuesday that Hurricane Katrina killed
as many as 80 people in his state and burst levees in Louisiana flooded New
Orleans.

Just before daybreak Tuesday, Katrina, now a tropical storm, was 35 miles
northeast of Tupelo, Miss., moving north-northeast with winds of 50 mph.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said the amount of rainfall
has been adjusted downward Monday.

Read More..
[Link went to a Viagra website]

--- End scam email ---

(Thanks to Dave Taylor for passing this email along.)

6. Requests for individual donations to help their family members: The first spam message we saw of this type had two different spellings of the scammer's first name! (Thanks to Janet Attard for sending this example along.)

Basically, these bogus requests usually look like this:

My [insert: brother, sister, family, parents, etc.] lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. Please send me money.

7. Hate websites: Sadly, a lot of hate websites are popping up that characterize the disaster as the "wrath of God" -- and then they naturally ask people to donate to them.

8. Chain letters: According to Anne Mitchell, aka Aunty Spam, the first email hoax was a request to forward the hoax because fifty cents would supposedly be donated to help victims for every copy of the email forwarded. You can read about this hoax here.

Although we haven't yet seen the following Hurricane Katrina scams, we are certain that they will become prevalent very shortly:

- Fee-based spam: unsolicited emails offer, for a fee, to locate loved ones who may be disaster victims.

If you've received a copy of a Hurricane Katrina scam, we'd appreciate a copy. Please visit our Feedback page and select 'Hurricane Katrina scam' from the popdown menu. (Note: Please do NOT send us copies of other kinds of scams -- we have many thousands already.) Thank you.

How to Avoid Getting Scammed

Here are the four most important things you can do:

Always use common sense.
Never respond to an email request for a donation — there is almost a 100% chance that it is a scam. (The only exception is that we hear that the American Red Cross does occasionally use email to solicit prior contributors. So if you have previously contributed to the American Red Cross, there is a small chance that a donation request email you receive may be legitimate.) In any case, NEVER click on a link in the email. Instead, type in the URL of the organization you wish to donate to. (See the resources below for a list.)
Check to make sure any charity is legitimate before contributing. You can read about how to do this on our page on charity scams.
Do not open attachments (including supposed pictures of disaster areas) -- they may well include viruses.

How You Can Help

The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has compiled a list of reputable voluntary organizations that urgently need cash donations to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina in Gulf Coast states.

http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease_print.fema?id=18473

FEMA also warns, though, that volunteers should not report "self-dispatch" to the affected areas -- it is important that volunteers be directed so that they don't become part of the problem.

Donating to charity

5 Tips: How to make your donation go far.

By Gerri Willis, CNN/Money contributing columnist

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Tens of thousands of children are going to starve to death in the West African Nation of Niger unless they get aid. In fact, 1.2 million people are starving. It's a crisis that could have been avoided, according to the United Nations. But it seems no one was listening to the warnings last year.

In today's 5 tips we're going to tell you what you can do to help a worthy cause.

1. Find specialized charities

The UN is asking for $30 million in aid to Niger. So far, private donations are at $250,000 according to the United Nations World Food Programme. There is a long road ahead of us.

If you want to donate to this crisis, think regionally, advises Art Taylor of the Wisegiving Alliance, the charity arm of the Better Business Bureau. If you want to help people in Niger, find an aid organization that specializes in Africa.

Go to the umbrella organization for relief agencies called Interaction at www.Interaction.org. Once you are on their Web site, click on aid organizations to find out their country of specialty and their mission statement.

For the crisis in Niger, check out the non-profit group Action Against Hunger, www.aah-usa.org, Africare www.africare.org and Worldvision at www.worldvision.org.

2. Bring on the paperwork

We usually try to cut down on the amount of paperwork we get, but when it comes down to donating to a charity, the more written info, the better. Charities by law must give information to potential donors.

Request a copy of the charity's latest annual report. Never give to a charity you know nothing about. This annual report should have a list of the board of directors, a mission statement and the most recent financial statements.

If you don't have time to surf online, or to request more information from the company, simply call the Wisegiving Alliance of the Better Business Bureau and they will issue you a report on the charity free of charge within a few weeks. That Web site is www.give.org.

3. Follow the money trail

When you donate to a charity, you're not only paying for relief efforts, you're also paying for administrative work and fundraising expenses for the non-profit.

The American Institute of Philanthropy recommends that at least 60 percent of your donation should go to the cause you want to sponsor. The remaining percentage can be doled out to other organizational costs.

You should keep in mind that newer groups and organizations may have more start-up and fundraising costs than older, more established organizations like the Red Cross.

The inner workings of charitable organizations may not be very transparent. So it may be difficult to decipher exactly where your charitable dollar is going. Ask specific questions about what program accomplishments have been achieved.

Watch out for charities that have high "public education" costs, according to the Institute. This label may disguise direct mail and telemarketing costs. To get the lowdown on charities, you can buy a "Charity Rating Book" from the American Institute of Philanthropy for three dollars. Check out www.charitywatch.org.

4. Hang up on telemarketers

Telemarketing is the most expensive kind of fundraising out there, says Taylor. Typically telemarketing contracts specify that the telemarketing company keep 80 percent of what they raise. If you're giving $100 to a telemarketer, the charity is only seeing about $20 of that.

If a company does resort to telemarketing, it's usually a sign that your charity organization has some serious priority flaws. Telemarketers also may try to pressure you into making a decision.

While getting junk mail is generally unpleasant, it does give the donor time to think about the organization and whether or not to pledge money. It's much less expensive and less intrusive, says Taylor.

5. Beware of scammers

Scam artists may take advantage of this situation by creating bogus fund-raising operations. The Federal Trade Commission says that complaints about fraudulent charities have increased every year for the past 5 years.

Watch out for companies that have sound-alike names. Taylor says there are hundreds of organizations that have word "cancer" in the title and there are thousands of organizations that are associated with doing charitable work with children because of their charity name.

"It's easy to assume these kinds of organizations are sponsored by these entities," says Taylor. There are over 1 million non-profit companies that exist today. That's more than double the number from just two decades ago.

If you think you may have been the victim of a scam charity, call or log onto the FTC Web site at www.ftc.gov or contact your local Better Business Bureau.

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