Scam Alert: Haiti Charity Frauds

The misery and suffering in Haiti is profound, and many of us are opening our wallets to help the earthquake victims.  Let’s just be sure we are giving to a legitimate, honest charity and not to a scam artist.

The FBI warns about phony emails asking for money, which also could contain malicious virus programs or link to phishing websites.  And I  warn you to be careful of fake charities whose name sounds oh, so close to a legitimate one.

Give only to well-known charities, or to your local religious group.   If in doubt, check Charity Navigator, a non-profit watchdog site that rates charities for their honesty, reliability and perfomance.

These charities are some of the ones which have received a four-star top rating from Charity Navigator –