Reaching out

Students cautioned to conduct research before making their donations\nSince the Dec. 26 catastrophe in southeast Asia, thousands of people have opened up their hearts and wallets to tsunami disaster relief funds. But as the tremendous outpour of support continues to come in large sums of money, officials fear history might be repeating itself. \nSimilar to the period following Sept. 11, many individuals are finding themselves in the midst of e-mail scams claiming to be charitable organizations. The Federal Trade Commission, the Secret Service and the Better Business Bureau all have warned consumers about the issue.\nAlthough no e-mail scams have been reported at IU, IU Police Department Detective Greg McClure cautions students about opening e-mails from unknown sources.\n"Once they (scammers) find an e-mail group like indiana.edu, anyone within that group can then receive an e-mail." he said.\nFor students who receive questionable e-mails, McClure suggests saving the original message for IUPD officers to examine.\n"We can eventually track the e-mails to a server and then to a user," he said.\nHowever, McClure said most of these scams often lead out of the country and originate in Nigeria, Canada and several countries in Europe, making it more difficult to track down the source of the e-mails.\nSenior Laura Barrett donated $20 to a community-run charity for tsunami victims in Clarendon Hill, Ill. Although Barrett knew the charity founders, she admits she would have given in to any plea for help.\n"I just have general faith in people that my money will actually go where it's supposed to," Barrett said. "You have to hope that after seeing these images on television, someone wouldn't just run off with your money."\nMark Bruhn, chief information technology and policy officer at University Information Technology Services, recommends that students do their research before considering making a donation to an organization. Bruhn suggests visiting Web sites such as www.fbi.gov and www.usafreedomcorp.gov, which provide information of various relief efforts and have a list of valid organizations.\n"Most legitimate relief agencies will not solicit funds via e-mail," he said."They know that e-mail is ridiculously easy to spoof."\nLeslie Lenkowsky, professor of Public and Environmental Affairs and Philanthropic Studies, said students can go to various watchdog Web sites (which include comprehensive databases of nonprofit organizations) to see if the organizations they question are reputable.\nDaniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a nonprofit charity watchdog and information service that posts ratings and reviews of philanthropic organizations at www.charitywatch.org, said a disturbing number of individuals have reported receiving e-mails with pleas that seem to come from victims of the disaster.\n"The people that have access to these e-mail capabilities aren't the most needy people," Borochoff said. "These scammers are taking advantage of good-hearted people who just want to help out."\nAssociate Professor of Informatics Markus Jakobsson said he advises against donating online, with the exception of well-known organizations. \nSenior Katie Voke went to www.cnnnews.com for a list of organizations through which she could donate money. After careful consideration, Voke contributed $10 to UNICEF.\n"I knew it was a reputable charity," said Voke, who received an e-mail update with information about how her money would be spent. \nLenkowsky said as a general rule, students should not respond to e-mails seeking any kind of donation.\n"There are a lot of other ways to give money," he said. "Most reputable charities do have secured Web sites. These charities should also give some type of a confirmation or receipt from because contributions are tax deductible."\nLenkowsky said although it's wonderful for students to get involved in helping with the tsunami crisis, he cautions them about being too vulnerable.\n"The problem with any disaster like this is that our hearts go out to these people and we are a little more susceptible in responding to appeals," he said.\n"We ought to use our brains as well as our hearts when responding to appeals and the money will get where it needs to go."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Lori Geller at lfgeller@indiana.edu.