Beware of scammers when donating money to help respond to earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, experts urge
Beware of scammers when donating money to help with earthquake response in Turkey and Syria, experts urge.
Thousands of generous people across the UK are seeking to support international aid efforts to help families following the devastating earthquakes earlier this month.
But scammers take advantage of people’s kindness by pretending to be official charities but, in fact, taking donations for themselves.
Helping hand: Thousands of generous people across the UK seek to support international aid efforts
Online security expert Get Safe Online anticipates a flood of scam emails, social media posts and websites asking for relief donations or claiming to have ‘exclusive’ video of the disaster area .
Similar scams have emerged following the earthquake in Nepal, the floods in Pakistan and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and, more recently, the war in Ukraine.
Tony Neate, Managing Director of Get Safe Online, said: “It never fails to amaze and disgust me that every time there is a tragedy, cybercriminals use it as an opportunity to defraud people in order to let them part with their well-earned money.
“We want to warn the public about these early scams, so they can make sure their money gets to those who desperately need it, and not to a fraudster.”
The Charity Commission for England and Wales and the Fundraising Regulator urge people to ensure charities are genuine before donating.
You can check that a charity is legitimate by searching for its name and registration number in the Register of Charities on the gov.uk/checkcharity website. You can visit the official Disaster Emergency Committee appeal at dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal.
