On August 28th the United stated was hit with its most destructive and expensive natural disaster in history.  Hurricane Katrina left a path of destruction from the costal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that soon affected 26 states and continues to grow as people across the nation come together to aid the thousands upon thousands of evacuees and displaced victims.

If you have not yet donated to one of the many funds and plan to do so, remember to do your research and donate wisely.

In the wake of this tragedy, bogus websites, organizations and charities are appearing at an ever-increasing rate.  The most common to be aware of are:

1.    Unsolicited e-mails:  The e-mail will have a logo of a seemingly legitimate organization, requesting that you visit the site and make a donation.

2.    Information Spam e-mails with photos:  This type of email may have a subject line that would lead you to think that information about the hurricane is contained in it.  An example that has made its way around the Internet is titled “g8 tropical storm flooded New Orleans.”  Once opened, a virus within the photos allows full access to your computer and all your personal information.

3.    Bait and switch e-mails: The e-mail will read as though it is a short news story with updated information on the disaster.  At the end of the “teaser” story there will be a link to “READ MORE”.  The link will switch from the story to an ad for a product, i.e. Viagra

These are just a few of the scams floating around the Internet.  Be sure to protect yourself, your computer and most importantly be sure your donations go to hurricane victims.

Reach out to donate or volunteer:

American Red Cross

http://www.redcross.org/
1-800-HELP NOW (435-7669) English,
1-800-257-7575 Spanish

America's Second Harvest-The Nations food bank network
http://www.secondharvest.org

1-800-344-8070

Humane Society of the United States

http://www.hsus.org
1-888-259-5431

Corporation for National and Community Service Disaster Relief Fund

http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/donations/index.asp
(202) 606-6718

Salvation Army

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org

1-800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769)

Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
Phone: 877-HELPLA1 or 877-435-7521
http://www.louisianahelp.org/

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
http://www.nvoad.org

Oprah’s Angel Network

https://www.oprah.com/uyl/angel/donate/uyl_angel_submit.jhtml

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This article was originally published in Flossin Magazine. This article is edited by Edna Waters. This article is optimized for web by Steven Christian (Artist | Author | Podcaster).