June 29th 2026
Charity donors are being warned to avoid fake charity appeals following the twin earthquakes which rocked Venezuela last Wednesday. At the time of writing this bulletin, the quakes have killed at least 1,450 people and another 50,000 are missing.
Natural disasters such as this always present heartless criminals with the ideal opportunity to release a wave of scams – exploiting people’s genuine good nature.
- For information and advice on spotting and dealing with spam and scam emails, click here
- For information and advice on how to donate to charity safely online, click here
As is always the case in such circumstances, we are anticipating a flood of emails, websites and social media activity claiming either to have exclusive video or pleading for donations for disaster relief efforts.
Some such messages may also malicious code designed to infect recipients’ devices with malware.
If you receive unsolicited appeals for donations or see an appeal on social media channels, you can check if they are likely to be genuine or fraudulent using tools like Check a Website and Ask Silver, available through Get Safe Online’s Self-Help Tool Centre.
If you decide to donate to relief to help the victims of the Venezuelan earthquakes or any other natural disaster, make sure you do so directly to reputable charitable organisations. Make sure you know the charity’s physical address and phone number. And do not respond to any unsolicited emails.
