Warning: Fake charity appeals surge after disasters and crises
After any high-profile disaster, emergency, or humanitarian crisis, fraudulent donation appeals appear rapidly online and by text, diverting funds away from genuine relief efforts.
A predictable pattern after disasters, conflicts, and humanitarian crises is the rapid emergence of fake charity appeals. These may appear as social media fundraising posts, copycat websites resembling established charities, unsolicited emails, or text message donation requests.
Fraudulent appeals often use urgent, emotional language, images from the event, and names that closely resemble well-known relief organisations. Donation links lead to accounts controlled by scammers rather than to any relief operation.
Because people want to respond quickly when a crisis unfolds, the time pressure reduces the scrutiny normally applied. Genuine charities registered with national regulatory bodies can be verified through official charity registers. Donating directly via a charity's known website, reached by typing the address rather than clicking a link, is the safest approach.
What to do
- Donate only via a charity's known official website — type the address rather than clicking links
- Verify the charity through your national charity regulator's public register
- Be cautious of newly created fundraising pages with no prior history
- Avoid donating in response to unsolicited texts or cold social media posts
- If a 'charity' asks for gift cards or crypto, it is a scam