Utahns want to donate money to help people impacted by Helene and Milton, and the bad guys know it

SALT LAKE CITY — Some of the images we’ve seen from Florida and the Carolinas following the devastating one-two punch of Hurricanes Helene and Milton really tug at the heartstrings. It’s very difficult to see people flooded out of their homes and not want to do something to help.

That “help” also makes the news. We’ve reported on some of Utah’s awesome people who are collecting supplies, raising money or in some cases traveling to hurricane-impacted areas. But not all people are awesome. Some who say they are trying to help are really just trying to line their own pockets.

“Scammers will try to use these tragedies to take advantage of people and make a buck,” said Bree Fowler of CNET, who writes about cybersecurity.

Ways to stay safe

She says if you are worried about your money getting into the right hands, there are steps you can take.

For example, you’ve maybe seen in our newscasts that KSL is raising money for hurricane relief using the name of the American Red cross. Well, if you scan the QR code, you can see that it takes you to redcross.org. You don’t have to trust that KSL will pass on the money. It’s going straight into their system.

As for the Red Cross itself, let’s pretend for a second that you’ve never heard of them. On the GuideStar website that you can use to research and verify a charity’s credentials, you can type in American Red Cross in the search field and in seconds see how much money they bring in, what they do with it, and how long they’ve been around. And if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, you can even review their IRS forms.

These are important steps that take time. A legitimate charity shouldn’t pressure you to give on the spot!

“They’re not going to have a problem with you taking a beat thinking about it and then doing your homework before you hand over your cash,” Fowler said. “Now a scammer, on the other hand, wants you to click before you think.”

If someone asks you for money in the form of a gift card, cryptocurrency, or cash – be very skeptical. A real charity will take your credit card. Plus, that will give you a traceable paper trail.