As you all know, the "superstorm" Hurricane Sandy devastated the states along or East/Northeast border. Tons of damage was done to houses, buildings, and nature. What's left to do is cleaning up and helping those who have no home, power, or clothes. In order to help the people who are in need, tons of companies and organizations are accepting both monetary donations and clothes donations. I myself have donated sweatshirts and fleeces in hope that I will help somebody stay warm.
With all of these ways to donate and help out, there are some serious scams going around as well. After Hurricane Sandy, over one thousand websites opened up. Some were websites that truly did intend to help - lawyers, construction companies, etc. But others, such as a site that accepted PayPal donations to help victims in Jamaica, could not be confirmed as an honest site. The site that I mentioned above was looked in to by SANS Security, a site that checks other internet sites for validity. SANS was not able to confirm that the donations received by the site that collected donations for Jamaican victims actually were given to those in need.
What struck me was how in times of serious need, some people choose to take advantage of the situation for their own personal gain. Is this something that America stands for? How can we ensure that things like this don't happen in the future?
And if you plan to donate, here is a link that gives you legitimate help sites. Make sure you know where you donate, because 70% of Americans do not.
I don't think Americans necessarily stand for taking donations for personal gain. Of course there are some organizations that are inefficient, but I think that the people who donate give money with good intentions. It is very interesting though that 70% of people do not know where they are donating. When my club donates money, we often use Charity Watch or other organizations to find out the credibility of our charity. I think there should be more public awareness of these charity checking organizations. I also think that the government should shut down charities that are deceptive similarly to false advertising.
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