Haiti Aid Scams A Disturbing Reality
Posted January 15, 2010 6:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s a sad reality that some depraved and greedy individuals will try to profit off the misery of others. And it didn’t take long for such undesirables to exploit Haiti aid efforts. Warnings are being spread about Haiti aid scams. In the U.S., citizens are being alerted about emails asking for donations through Western Union. Similar scams are popping up in Canada too.
There are some measures the well-intentioned masses can take to avoid being duped.
“Be the initiator of the contact to the charity. Don’t necessarily wait for an email to come to you that’s always a potential problem,” said Doug Simpson, Cdn., Council of Better Business Bureaus.
“These kind of people are real low lives.”
There are countless legitimate organizations you can donate through.
One simple way is through LCBO donation boxes.
“We want to lend a hand and our customers and employees have been really generous in the past, and it’s a great opportunity to come and contribute this time around,” said Chris Layton, LCBO.
Local public schools will also be fund raising and accepting donations next week.
“It’s important that children have an opportunity to work together to support both locally and also internationally, because we feel that as children participate in these activities they get to know each other they get to know people around the world and we feel they become better citizens as a whole,” notes Jeff Hainbuch, Supt., TDSB.
You can find a list of registered charities by searching the Canada Revenue Agency’s Charity Listing database here.
