Internet scam artists are taking advantage of the outpouring of goodwill that has followed the December tsunami disaster, warn charity and law enforcement organisations.
Yesterday, the US government`s primary law enforcement organization, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), issued an alert warning against fake Web sites, unsolicited e-mails that offer to locate missing people or call for donations, and the spread of computer viruses through attachments that purport to show pictures of the disaster.
A source in South African law enforcement says no related complaints have been received in this country yet, although e-mails that are similar to the "Nigerian 419" e-mail scams are known to be in circulation.
"We haven`t come across any false Web sites operating out of SA, but we do know of instances of them operating overseas and the relevant police departments have been informed," he says.
Ann Bown, external relations officer for the South African Red Cross Society (www.redcross.org.za) estimates that between 5% and 10% of funds raised for charity or disaster relief efforts are skimmed by scam artists.
"It is quite scary really about the number of people offering to raise funds for us, on what can only be called a false basis," she says.
The SA Red Cross is hoping to raise R10 million to aid relief efforts in Indonesia and other countries affected by the tsunami disaster.
Profit from losses
Government has urged people to make any donations only via the Red Cross and designated fund collection organisations that are registered under the Non-Profit Organisations Act (NPO). These organisations will have NPO numbers that identify them as government-registered.
"People must be wary all the time. They must ask for a legitimate bank account number that should be in the name of the organisation for which the funds are being raised," Bown says.
While Internet security firm Symantec says it has not received any alerts of viruses being distributed through tsunami-related e-mails, it says people should be aware that it could happen.
"Unfortunately, in times of great human tragedy, there are still people who seek to profit from others` losses. What we are seeing in our inboxes around the world are phishing attacks, the majority of which are social engineering attempts to extract money from people by playing on their emotions," says Patrick Evans, Symantec SA country manager.
"We advise people to be very suspicious of an email arriving from an unknown source, and never to open any attachments coming from untrusted sources, as these may be carrying virus or worms which will infect their computer.
"We would also advise people to donate charitable funds through recognised bodies, and if online, then on secure online payment sites, which should be marked with a secure padlock to keep their credit card information secure," Evans says.
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