Red Cross alerts public to Myanmar relief e-mail scam

Red Cross alerts public to Myanmar relief e-mail scam
By Teri Greene
May 15th, 2008

The Office of Investigations, Compliance and Ethics at Red Cross Headquarters in Washington, D.C. is alerting the public to an e-mail scam.

The e-mail, currently in circulation, states that the American Red Cross will be donating $5 million in aid to the victims of the Myanmar cyclone. It then instructs recipients to make donations by clicking on a web page, contacting an e-mail account or dialing a telephone number. None of these contacts are affiliated with the American Red Cross, according to Red Cross Headquarters.

The agency further states, "The American Red Cross does not advertise for donations using a Yahoo domain as a contact address. This is an email scam using the American Red Cross brand, and the Internet Crime Complaint Center of the FBI has been notified. If you receive this email, treat it with caution. To avoid becoming a victim of fraud, do not forward any personal information in response to unsolicited and suspicious emails."

If you would like to make a donation to the Red Cross, only use the authorized Red Cross Website, www.redcross.org or www.icrc.org or contact your local office of the American Red Cross of Central Alabama by calling 260-3980.

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