Hurricane Ida brings more scammers
Just like any disaster, Hurricane Ida has given scammers another avenue to try and take donations away from families and communities in need of help after the devastating storm.
Representatives from the Better Business Bureau say scammers will send messages or emails from legitimate looking and sounding organizations that promise to help with disaster relief efforts needed after Hurricane Ida.
Scammers are looking for generous individuals to hand them money or financial information that they can benefit from.
“Taking your time, gathering information, doing some research and then giving is the wisest course of action. Making sure that you know who you’re giving to, what you’re clicking on is critical to keeping your own information safe and making sure that when you do give money it goes to where you expect,” said Troy Baker, Director for the Better Business Bureau of Western Michigan.
Anyone looking to donate should do proper research to make sure they are donating to a legitimate organization or charity in light of a natural disaster.
“Go to givedot.org, look for those organizations the places that you know, those names that you know that do the right thing, that do the good that you want to be done. Do some homework before you make that donation to make sure that money goes where it’s supposed to,” Baker added.
To review a list of legitimate organizations to donate to and help communities recover from the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida, visit here.