Charity fraud is the latest online scam. Charity fraud stories are cooked up so well that even the most suspicious of users can become credulous. The fraud usually starts with an e-mail that asks people to donate money for some victims (usually of some natural disasters) and in some cases, the scammers even ask for material goods to make their story seem more convincing. iYogi has done research on this issue and it has released iYogi alerts that provide users with information on charity fraud and help them from falling prey to it. Read more...

Diana Petro, Oregon

20 May, 2011

Cheated me and the poor as well

The e-mail had heart rendering stories of tsunami victims and requested people to contribute generously for relief activities of such people. I and my colleagues did just that, only to know later that the whole thing was a racket and those e-mail senders were cheating people in the name of the tsunami relief fund!

Andy Schmitt, Houston

05 May, 2011

I fell victim to charity fraud. I received an e-mail asking me to give some money for charity. I got emotional and donated the money. They told me that I would be getting a receipt within a week. But now it's more than a month and I haven't received any receipt. I'm unable to contact them. Whenever I send an e-mail, I always get a 'mail failure' message.

Fredrik Randall, Indiana

04 May, 2011

Lucky escape!

I almost fell victim to charity fraud! I got an e-mail asking me to make a donation for an orphanage that was about to shut down. I wanted to help and even called in my friend to chip in. He checked out the mail and I was shocked when he informed me that such an orphanage did not exist at all. We tried contacting the phone number on the website but it was non-existent. Thank God we did not fall for this one!