Scam Artists Raising Money In The Name Of Newtown’s Child Victims

The family of Noah Pozner, a six-year-old lost in Newtown, is being further victimized.

Someone they didn’t know was soliciting donations in Noah’s memory, claiming that they’d send any cards, packages and money collected to his parents and siblings. An official-looking website had been set up, with Noah’s name as the address, even including petitions on gun control.

Noah’s uncle, Alexis Haller, called on law enforcement authorities to seek out “these despicable people.”

“These scammers,” he said, “are stealing from the families of victims of this horrible tragedy.”

It’s a problem as familiar as it is disturbing. Tragedy strikes – be it a natural disaster, a gunman’s rampage or a terrorist attack – and scam artists move in.

It happened after 9/11. It happened after Columbine. It happened after Hurricane Katrina. And after this summer’s movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo.

Sometimes fraud takes the form of bogus charities asking for donations that never get sent to victims. Natural disasters bring another dimension: Scammers try to get government relief money they’re not eligible for.

“It’s abominable,” said Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, which evaluates the performance of charities. “It’s just the lowest kind of thievery.”

Noah Pozner’s relatives found out about one bogus solicitation when a friend received an email asking for money for the family. Poorly punctuated, it gave details about Noah, his funeral and his family. It directed people to send donations to an address in the Bronx, one that the Pozners had never heard of.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.