TAMPA, Fla. — It’s hard to watch what’s happening in Ukraine and not want to do something to help.
But now there’s a warning from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) that you need to hear before you click on a link or donate your hard-earned dollars.
Many people become emotional watching images coming out of Ukraine. Unfortunately, scam artists know it, prompting the BBB warning.
“As consumers, we want to donate. We want to give help. We want to help people in need,” said the BBB’s Bryan Oglesby, “And scammers will take advantage of that.”
The BBB, predicting a scam surge, has already noticed an uptick both online and on social media platforms like TikTok. People can be tearfully seen appealing for help, with no way of knowing whether they’re legitimate.
“You really don’t know if that individual is telling the truth or not. So, the advice on crowdfunding sites is you should only give to people on crowdfunding sites that you know and trust,” said Oglesby.
In addition to scams that play on our emotions, the BBB says to watch out for others that appeal to people’s greed.
“They are going to ask you to invest money to make money,” said Oglesby. “They’re going to ask you to pay with alternative methods that you are not used to being with, like bitcoin or using money transfer apps.”
Instead, the BBB advises those who want to help to work with larger well-established charities, especially those that already have a presence in Ukraine and can actually deliver help where it’s needed most.
The bureau has a list of such organizations at www.give.org.
Oglesby says the site’s charities are vetted by the BBB, “against 20 standards of accountability, and we are continually adding to that list of charities that have identified on their website that they are providing assistance to people in need in the Ukraine.”
The Better Business Bureau says it’s not trying to dissuade people from donating to causes in Ukraine but they want to make sure that if you do decide to donate, that money ends up where are you intended it to go.
The BBB says, as a reminder, investments made in legitimate charities based in the United States can be tax-deductible. That might not be the case overseas.
In our area, there are a number of local legitimate charities and relief groups that are working to help people in Ukraine. You can find several here.