Greg's Corner

NY warns of scams after tragedy in Buffalo

By Greg Collier

By now, we’re sure you’ve heard of the tragedy that struck the state of New York over this past weekend. An 18-year-old gunman opened fire on a Buffalo supermarket. Before he could be apprehended, 13 people were shot and 10 of them were dead. 13 families are now probably scrambling to pay for either medical or funeral expenses due to the selfish actions of a maniac. Neither of these expenses has reasonable costs, even when it’s something that can be prepared for. When it’s a sudden and wanton attack of violence, the expenses become even more difficult to raise.

Historically, when a tragedy like this occurs, victims’ families will often turn to crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe to try to mitigate some of the cost. Scammers are also well aware of this fact, and will often try to use the tragedy to start phony charities of their own to capitalize on such a catastrophe.

The Attorney General’s Office in the state of New York, has issued a warning to residents they should be informed about these scams before they take hold. To better educate New York residents, the state has a website at CharitiesNYS.com that can tell New York residents if a charity is legitimate or not.

Many fake charities will try to solicit you through emails, text, or phone call. They’ll have vague names like ‘the victims fund’, or something along those lines. Anytime you’re solicited by a charity that you haven’t heard of, it’s always best if you research them first before donating any money. You can also research the charity at Give.org which is also maintained by the BBB, or Charity Navigator. GoFundMe even has a page where you can donate to verified accounts of people who have been affected by the tragedy.

In this time of crisis, we really need our donations going to the people who need them, rather than the pockets of scammers.