Are Scammers Taking Advantage of Haitian Earthquake Relief Funds?

In the days since a deadly 7.0-magnitude earthquake leveled Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, on Tuesday evening, millions of dollars have been pledged to help the search and rescue and relief efforts on the impoverished Caribbean nation.

But where is that aid going?

The most desperate immediate needs of the more than 3 million Haitians who've been impacted by the disaster are food, water, shelter and medical supplies.

Like Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti which is urging people to text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 to the cause — which has raised more than $2 million so far — many other relief organizations have used mobile messaging to quickly gather funds.

But experts have been warning those wishing to donate to Haitian relief to be wary of organizations that claim 100 percent of their funds will go to victim relief because all charities have overhead and administrative costs and rarely use all the funds raised strictly for relief. They've also suggested that you go with well-known, big organizations such as the American Red Cross and UNICEF, who have a long track record with these types of efforts and who typically channel 90 percent of funds into programming/relief.

Other tips from Charity Navigator: avoid telemarketers and anonymous e-mail/text requests for would-be scammers looking to capitalize on the situation, don't be afraid to be suspicious and ask questions, never give your personal or financial information, ask if the charity is registered with an organization like the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, never donate cash and while the immediacy of the social-networking giving that has become the go-to method of donation is inspiring, make sure you do your homework before texting that donation in.

CNN reported that the FBI has already issued a warning about unscrupulous scammers who might be looking to take advantage of the situation in Haiti to solicit bogus appeals. So be WARY!

For our part, MTV is teaming up with Oscar-winning actor George Clooney for a Haitian Relief Telethon next Friday (January 22). Here are some other ways you can take part in Haitian relief efforts. (MTV News)

Photo via Getty Images

Tags American Red Cross, George Clooney, UNICEF, Wyclef, Yele Haiti