By Ryan Pilon

Scammers taking advantage of disaster in Japan

Mar 30, 2011 | 6:37 AM

A scam is capitalizing on the good will of people who wish to help with relief efforts in Japan.

An email asks people to donate money through a wire service or Western Union, but the money never reaches those in Japan.

“It really does put a bad taste in your mouth that there are people out there that are looking to victimize people through their good will, but the fact is that they’re out there, and we all need to be careful,” said Sgt. Kelly McLean, with the Prince Albert Police Service.

It is common that when a disaster in the world occurs, some sort of scam will take advantage of it, McLean said. He said if someone does want to help out, it is important to go through legitimate sources.

“I would strongly suggest you go through someone who is established in the community, be that Red Cross, be that a relief agency that’s run through a church,” said McLean.

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“Be very careful who you’re donating your money to.”

McLean said the police service has received complaints about these types of scams before, but it is difficult to track down the people swindling people out of their money.

“There are often times very little we can do in terms of tracking that money down,” said McLean.

“These people are criminal deviants, but they’re not stupid, and at the end of the day they’re going to cover their tracks very well.”

McLean said a good tip to protect yourself from these scams is to never wire money, don’t give out your credit card number or your security pin.

rpilon@panow.com