By Louise Goldstein
The Japanese earthquake has resulted in a tsunami of scams flooding the web. This terrible tragedy has been the target of many internet fraudsters who are capitalising on the disaster. The whole world's eyes are on Japan after the massive earthquake with many thousands of people killed and homeless. Everyone is interested in the latest developments on how the people of Japan are coping.
This interest is the reason behind the massive increase in online scams which have been created by cyber criminals for their financial gain. There have been a number of Facebook videos and websites set up with pleas for donations. There are going to be many people who want to help out in whatever way they can. If you want to donate to make sure you only donate to legitimate sites which you have heard of like the Red Cross. This will ensure your donation gets to those who need it and not the heartless criminals trying to make a quick buck.
The Japan Earthquake is not the first time cyber criminals have used donation sites to steal money and it probably won't be the last. If you want to donate to charity online there are a few things you can do to make sure you only give to genuine charities. Do not click on links which request money through unsolicited emails. If you are driven to a charity site check it is an official charity and not a dummy one.
You can check the legitimacy of a charity site by checking the domain age, scam sites will be newer. You can also search for the name of the charity online and see if the site you are presented with is the same as the one you are on. Cyber criminals will go to great lengths to fraud consumers and can set up dummy sites which pose as official charities.
Internet security firm Symantec reported there were more than 50 domains with the keywords 'Japanese tsunami' and 'Japanese earthquake' within hours of the disaster happening. Be vigilant over the next few months as there will be arise in the number of phishing and spam which will be requesting a monetary donation to help those who have been affected.
Tips To Protect You When Donating to Charity Online
This interest is the reason behind the massive increase in online scams which have been created by cyber criminals for their financial gain. There have been a number of Facebook videos and websites set up with pleas for donations. There are going to be many people who want to help out in whatever way they can. If you want to donate to make sure you only donate to legitimate sites which you have heard of like the Red Cross. This will ensure your donation gets to those who need it and not the heartless criminals trying to make a quick buck.
The Japan Earthquake is not the first time cyber criminals have used donation sites to steal money and it probably won't be the last. If you want to donate to charity online there are a few things you can do to make sure you only give to genuine charities. Do not click on links which request money through unsolicited emails. If you are driven to a charity site check it is an official charity and not a dummy one.
You can check the legitimacy of a charity site by checking the domain age, scam sites will be newer. You can also search for the name of the charity online and see if the site you are presented with is the same as the one you are on. Cyber criminals will go to great lengths to fraud consumers and can set up dummy sites which pose as official charities.
Internet security firm Symantec reported there were more than 50 domains with the keywords 'Japanese tsunami' and 'Japanese earthquake' within hours of the disaster happening. Be vigilant over the next few months as there will be arise in the number of phishing and spam which will be requesting a monetary donation to help those who have been affected.
Tips To Protect You When Donating to Charity Online
- f you receive unsolicited email requesting charitable donations do not click on links or open attachments even if the email appears to be from an official charity
- Check to see if the site you are on is a fake. Site sites which you arrive at through search engines can still be illegitimate. Scammers can falsely improve rankings very quickly by automatically building millions of links very quickly. Google can take a few weeks to uncover and ban these sites so the criminals can make money very quickly before getting found out.
- Only donate to charities you have heard of
