As relief efforts continue on the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, some Denver officials have this warning: Don’t be fooled by phony fundraisers.
The Denver/Boulder Better Business Bureau has received several complaints of fraudulent fundraising attempts in Colorado since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the South last week.
Some of the bogus fundraising attempts involved phone calls or door-to-door collection requests from people posing as American Red Cross workers.
Other ploys include launching phony websites or creating nonprofits after a disaster.
“It’s the perfect invisible crime,” said Susan Liehe of the BBB.
Lisa Curtis with the Denver district attorney’s office said her office has yet to hear about any sham fundraisers.
Nationwide, dozens of bogus fundraising attempts have been reported by individuals and nonprofits to www.charitynavigator.org, a New Jersey-based nonprofit advocacy group.
The amount of fraudulently collected money is nearly impossible to estimate, said Andrew Heck of charitynavigator.org, but most likely will exceed the amount scammed after the Asian tsunami or Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“There is greater demand for people wanting to give,” he said.
Heck’s advice to would-be philanthropists: Give to well-known nonprofits and never respond to e-mail or phone solicitations.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-820-1260 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
