Be Wary of Haiti Relief Hoaxes on Facebook
Since news of the devastating earthquake in Haiti first hit the web, men and women from around the world have banded together on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter to help raise money to aid in the ongoing relief effort. According to Mashable, a text message campaign spearheaded by the American Red Cross and promoted heavily online has already brought in over million. Obviously, this is a great thing, and it shows the power of social media in helping provide immediate support during crisis situations.
Unfortunately, not everybody is seeking to be charitable during times of crisis. Just as scammers and frauds come out of the woodwork during the holidays to take advantage of people’s charity, cybercriminals gravitate to catastrophes like the one in Haiti to trick people out of their money, and, even worse, stop vital funds from getting to the people who need them.
Today, in an article for The Tech Chronicles blog of the San Francisco Chronicle, Benny Evangelista explores how hoaxes on Facebook have some users confused.
Facebook was blocking a fraudulent message being circulated by its members that the Palo Alto company would donate to a Haitian earthquake rescue fund for every status update that is posted about that cause and left up for at least an hour. The company has no such donation program.
There were also several other member-generated quake pages that promised donations for every fan that signed up. A Facebook spokesman said he did not know whether those were legitimate, but cautioned members to be wary. The FBI last week also warned about “individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.”
Facebook members who receive the fraudulent message are being redirected to a Global Disaster Relief page, which Facebook employees posted late Wednesday night.
Despite the hoaxes, however, Facebook has definitely proven to be a valuable fundraising tool. The article goes on to explain how the Facebook Causes application has successfully helped organizations raise millions of dollars in emergency funds.
If you are considering donating to Haiti relief efforts, we encourage you to visit the American Red Cross directly to make your donation. If you wish to donate to a different charity, check out Charity Navigator first to make sure that it’s not a scam.
