fyi

http://www.click2houston.com/news/4967757/detail.html

Online Scams Target Katrina Donations
Check Out Charity Before Donating

Since the day Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, the FBI reports more
than 2,300 Web sites have popped up asking for donations for victims.
The magnitude of the disaster has made the Internet a perfect place for
crooks to exploit both compassion and convenience, the

Both Missouri and Florida have filed lawsuits against fraudulent Web
sites, but, so far, Texas has not. Parsons said that it is because the
Texas Attorney General is watching for more imminent scams since the
Lone Star State is handling the ripple effects of the disaster.

"They're watching for the 'I'm a FEMA inspector, here I am,' as opposed
to some cyber-crook in Thailand running a bad Web site," Parsons said.
The biggest hurdle for consumers weeding out the fraudulent sites from
the legitimate ones is so many of the sites are made to look like bona
fide charities such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army and United Way.