Scams. We see them everywhere and unfortunately many times they are connected to wide-spread disasters or large issues. There are the scams where an individual may think that they are giving clean water to kids in Africa when they are just helping a fellow American pay off a large debt. There have been scams to help people after the mudslides and wildfires in California, Hurricane Katrina, to provide aid to factions in Libya and Egypt, and most recently the tsunamis and radiation in Japan.
We fall for it every time. The worst part is that its all in the name of doing good. Some may argue that if you believe the Google work-at-home scams and get rich quick scams that you deserve to fall prey to them, but what if one were hoodwinked while trying to help in the wake of a natural disaster? Maybe there should be a Better Business Bureau certified stamp for Internet agencies who claim to give money to disaster relief. Shifting through the sea of sites that claim to offer relief can be overwhelming especially when there is a large panic or outcry to give money and so the general public does exactly that without looking at the consequences of not investigating the source.
It is interesting that people assume that sites on the Internet are what they appear to be and take them at face value when they claim to give money to relief efforts. It is as if skepticism is thrown out of the window. Personally, I think it would be wise to investigate a little, especially if you’re sending off a check with six zeroes to Timbuktu.
We fall for it every time. The worst part is that its all in the name of doing good. Some may argue that if you believe the Google work-at-home scams and get rich quick scams that you deserve to fall prey to them, but what if one were hoodwinked while trying to help in the wake of a natural disaster? Maybe there should be a Better Business Bureau certified stamp for Internet agencies who claim to give money to disaster relief. Shifting through the sea of sites that claim to offer relief can be overwhelming especially when there is a large panic or outcry to give money and so the general public does exactly that without looking at the consequences of not investigating the source.
It is interesting that people assume that sites on the Internet are what they appear to be and take them at face value when they claim to give money to relief efforts. It is as if skepticism is thrown out of the window. Personally, I think it would be wise to investigate a little, especially if you’re sending off a check with six zeroes to Timbuktu.
