Consumer Protection is warning that scammers are likely to be preying on people falsely seeking to donate to the victims of Perth’s current bushfire disaster.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Lanie Chopping said those wishing to raise funds should remember that collecting money for a charitable purpose such as this required a licence, or a licensed charity had to be involved.
“While no scam reports have yet to be received, Consumer Protection believes it’s only a matter of time before scammers attempt to steal donations,” Ms Chopping said.
“The best way to prevent being scammed is to deal only with licensed charities to ensure that the money goes to the right cause.”
She said past experience had shown that heartless scammers would exploit disastrous events to capitalise on the community’s generosity and profit out of other people’s misfortune by creating bogus charities and fund-raisers online, via social media or fake websites.
“They may also create fake Go Fund Me pages supposedly to raise money for individual victims. Don’t respond to random emails or texts that may be from scammers impersonating established charities and contain links that take you to fake sites,” Ms Chopping said.
“It’s doubly cruel because, not only does it con the donor out of their money, it also denies the true cause much-needed funds for those impacted by the bushfires.”
She said a quick check on the Consumer Protection and the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commissions websites would reveal if the fund-raising body held a licence or was registered.
