Be Aware of Charity Email Scams

email scamSouth Gloucestershire Trading Standards would like to remind residents to be wary when dealing with unexpected emails, whatever the reason for that mail is.

Get Safe Online, an organisation that provides advice on how to protect yourself and your computer from online fraud, has issued a warning following the devastating earthquake in Nepal. Natural disasters such as this present heartless criminals with an ideal opportunity to release a wave of scam emailsappealing to people’s genuine good nature. These emails can contain viruses or spyware that can damage your computer and give scammers the opportunity to obtain personal information.

Other fraudulent emails will appeal for charitable donations but the links provided are to fake charities or to copycat websites – websites that impersonate legitimate well known charities in the hope of tricking people into providing their credit or debit card details when making a donation.

If you decide to donate to a charitable appeal to help the victims of the Nepalese earthquake (or to any other cause), the advice being offered is to go directly to reputable charitable organisations, such as the Disaster Emergency Committee. Do not respond to any unsolicited emails.

You can check whether a charity is registered with the Charity Commission by visiting their section on the Gov.uk website. If you think that an email, appeal or collection is not genuine, please report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

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