Full Notification

Sheriff Johnson would like to remind everyone to be alert to fraudulent solicitation of money for victims in Haiti.

The FBI today reminds Internet users who receive appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those requests. Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization and/or a good cause.

Therefore, before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, to include the following:
• Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.
• Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
• Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.
• Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
• Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.
• Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.
Anyone who has received an e-mail referencing the above information or anyone who may have been a victim of this or a similar incident should notify the IC3 via
www.ic3.gov

For further information, please visit the FBI's Web site:
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel10/earthquake011310

Looking for ways to help the relief effort for Haitian earthquake victims?
Here are some resources and suggestions.

American Red Cross International Response Fund by mail: American Red Cross, PO Box 37423, Washington DC, 20013. Donations can be made by phone at
1-880-RED-CROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (in Spanish),
or online at www.redcross.org.

CARE - Donate at care.org, or
by phone at 1-800-521-CARE.

Operation USA - Donate at opusa.org or
by phone at 1-800-678-7255.

Salvation Army - Donate at salvationarmyusa.org
or by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

U.S. Fund for UNICEF - Donate at unicefusa.org
or by phone at 1-800-FOR-KIDS.

World Vision - Donate at worldvision.org or
by phone at 1-866-280-6587.

Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti can call the State Department at 1-888-407-4747.

Address/Location
Currituck County Sheriff's Office
407 Maple Rd
Maple, NC 27956

Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 252-453-8204

Currituck Sheriff's Office
252-453-8204