As donations flood in for the victims in Orlando, the number of fundraisers are proliferating.
Money has poured in from all over the world to help the victims and their families following the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The Sunday massacre left 49 dead and 53 wounded.
But the unfortunate reality is that scammers often prey on people during crisis when emotions are running high.
Fake Twitter accounts, websites and donation solicitations consistently pop up in the aftermath of a tragedy. Experts advise donors to be wary of campaigns claiming to raise money for an individual victim rather than for a verified nonprofit.
The crowdfunding site GoFundMe says it already has 150 campaigns raising money for Orlando victims.
The site said it has a team working “around the clock” looking into reports of fraudulent fundraisers that have sprung up in the wake of the Orlando tragedy.
“We encourage individuals to donate only to campaigns they trust,” spokesperson Bobby Whithorne advised, adding that users should alert GoFundMe of suspicious campaigns.
Whithorne added that if a campaign does turn out to be fraudulent, donors will ultimately get refunds.
CNN’s Impact Your World also keeps a list of verified campaigns run by reputable charitable organizations or local authorities.
If you’re donating to another, established non-profit, you can check out how efficiently the organization has distributed funds in the past on CharityNavigator.com, which also has tips to avoid fraud.
“Informed donors recognize that for-profit fundraisers, those often used in charitable telemarketing campaigns, keep a large portion (in some cases all) of each dollar they collect,” the organization says on its “10 Practices for Savvy Donors” page.
It’s also a good idea to look at the website of an organization before you donate, to see if they’ve handled similar fundraisers in the past. The more information, the better: Trustworthy charities won’t hesitate to provide detailed information about how funds from previous campaigns were used.