Amid Efforts to Help Orlando, Beware of Scams

Crowdsourcing website GoFundMe has verified the legitimacy of Equality Florida’s popular campaign and experts suggest consumers do the same for any charitable organization before donating money.

“You don’t need to take a couple (of) days,” said Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection spokesperson Lora Rae Anderson. “Take a couple of minutes, maybe an hour, doing a little bit of research on where your money is going, because if you really want to help those involved—if you really want to help those who need it—you want to make sure your money is going to the most efficient place to help them.”

Equality Florida shows it’s registered as a non-profit in Florida and shows donors its registration number with a link to the state’s licensing website.

Donors can hold Equality Florida to its promise to distribute the funds directly to victims’ families, as the LGBT non-profit says it is “working with a team of attorneys and experts, including the National Center for Victims of Crime, which deployed funds in both Chattanooga and Aurora, to ensure funds are distributed correctly.”

That’s not always the case.

In December 2012, Bronx-native Nouel Alba claimed one of the Sandy Hook victims, Noah Pozner, was her nephew. She raised so-called “funeral funds” through a Facebook page linked to a Paypal account. The account ended up being fake.

Officials later sentenced Alba to eight months in prison and two years of probation.

“Unfortunately, after great tragedy there’s typically an opening for scams,” said Anderson.

She suggests potential donors question legitimate charities, too. By the end of 2012, 64 different organizations registered as Sandy Hook charities state-wide, many of which were criticized for not distributing the funds effectively.

Orlando could face a similar dilemma, as their healing process continues.

“Ask them where (the money is) going and when (it is) going there,” said Anderson. “They should be able to answer those questions, and people with their heart in the right place will be able to answer those questions for you.”

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