Look out for fake donation sites and exclusive videos

Oct 29, 2012 09:47 GMT  ·  By

Hurricane Sandy – which is about to hit the northeast coast of the United States – has made a lot of headlines these days. Security experts warn that this is a great opportunity for scammers and cybercriminals to launch their malicious campaigns.

Back in 2005, after Katrina and Rita hit the US, authorities were forced to instate a special agency whose main goal was to handle the large amounts of scams generated by the hurricanes.

Experts believe that his time will not be any different, malicious Facebook posts, tweets, emails and websites related to the hurricane being expected to reach internauts in the upcoming days.

According to Avast!, users should be extra careful when making donations to aid Hurricane Sandy's victims. A number of fraud websites will most likely surface these days, so the best way to help out those in need is to contact reputable charity organizations directly.

Never donate money in response to social media messages or unsolicited emails since they’re most likely part of a criminal scheme.

Also, beware of links that allegedly point to videos of Hurricane Sandy. In most cases, they’ll lead to all sorts of surveys or malware-serving websites.