Unfortunately there are dishonest people that create fake donation campaigns in order to exploit and take advantage of the tragic situation in South Texas due to Hurricane Harvey. If you donate to a scam charity besides not helping the actual victims of the hurricane, you might be providing your personal information to identity thieves!

Use caution when you are making a donation to help provide relief to those in need. Some scammers even use sites that look just like real litigate relief organizations. One way to avoid these scam look-alike (or clone) sites is to avoid clicking on links on Facebook or in emails, but instead go directly to the site from your browser where you are making a donation. If someone calls you on the phone trying to solicit a donation from you , hang up and if you want to donate to their relief fund, first check out if they are a legitimate organization and then call them directly. If you are not sure if the charity you are donating to is real, you can check the Charitable Registration & Investigation Section of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.