Chinese Charity Scam June 20, 2008
Posted by Aaron Wong in China.trackback
I just read a news report tonight about an email scam out there trying to take advantage of those who want to help out the victims of last month’s 7.9 earthquake disaster.
If you receive an email with the subject “HELP THE NEEDY TZU CHI FOUNDATION, CHINA EARTHQUAKE”, delete it immediately!! According to the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, they say the Tzu Chi Foundation is not a registered foundation. The email asks donors to send money via Western Union to Lagos, Nigeria, which should immediately put up a red flag for anyone.
Shortly after the earthquake, we put out a call to donate money for the victims of the earthquake. We safely donated all of the money collected to the China Red Cross.
For additional information on this email scam, click on the links below:
I think it is horrible that these people are trying to scam people out of their money in the wake of such disaster. I also think it’s horrible that they are misusing the name of a very real and wonderful charity – the Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Compassionate Foundation. (http://www.tzuchi.org/global). They are incredible people with a purpose that never fails to move my heart. Instead of associating them with the real relief group, I believe Americans may confuse them with the scammers, therefore in a way, the society and disaster victims are the ones really losing out.