It happened quicker than I thought! The first Tsunami Scam E-Mail

On the 29th of December I made post saying that disaters make a good story. Although I had the foresight to expect a scam story to appear using the Tsunami as a background, I didn't expect it to be this quick. Here is the first Tsunami scam e-mail received today.

This one is easier than any other online scam. Most people are willing to donate money to charities such as the Red Cross without question. Considering the millions being donated, this is a real easy way for these "criminals" to skim off a part of the millions being donated since the Tsunami occured.

Morally, it's the worst case of online fraud that I have seen to date!

Here's the e-mail:

URGENT APPEAL

Dear All, May the Peace & Blessings of Almighty ALLAH Be Upon all of us. As we are all aware the Disaster caused by the Tsunami on 26th December 2004 Sunday Morning overall in South Asian continent and Millions were affected by this, death toll is increasing day by day and all those affected parts victims were in need of URGENT help.

We will help others in this needy time and get reward from Almighty ALLAH. In Hong Kong many Associations, Organizations and Individuals donated millions of dollars and also collecting a lot of funds to sent to the appropriate affected countries and areas. Our Indian Mulim Association of Hong Kong; Tamil Cultural Association also collecting funds in Hong Kong to sent to the victims. Sure we will all do whatever help we are possible....... Insha Allah

payment office Madrid=spain Redcross Espanola Volunteer of UNICEF
Note : Please forward this email to who ever you know and make them participate in this noble cause.

Hong Kong Community's Concern for Tidal Waves Victims Pouring In HK$26 Million Received by Hong Kong Red Cross for Relief Operations But More Donations Needed to Help this Largest Catastrophe December 29, 2004 Hong Kong community’s concern and generosity for victims of South and East Asia tidal waves catastrophe is enormous.

The Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC) has received HK$26 million donation from the Hong Kong community for its relief operations to help victims hard hit by the disaster.. The donation includes USD1 million from the Hongkong Bank Foundation, HK$3 million from Po Lin Monastery, USD250,000 from the Jockey Club’s operation fund and HK$1million from the Glorious Sun Group, HK$500,000 from Hang Seng Bank Limited.

But HKRC is appealing for more donations so as to help victims of this largest catastrophe in decades. “There are at least 13 international Red Cross emergency response teams currently working in Sri Lanka and Indonesia to assist with water and sanitation, basic health, aid distribution, telecommunications and logistics. Besides searching for survivors and providing aid to victims, the Red Cross volunteers help collect bodies of the deceased to secure hygiene of the environment,” said Mr. K M Chan, Secretary General of HKRC.

Sri Lanka is the one the hardest-hit countries in the region. More than 40,000 people are temporarily housed in 66 Red Cross camps and shelters, and 14,000 are staying with relatives and friends. In Indonesia, more than 300 volunteers are actively engaged in relief activities in Aceh providing first aid, search and transport, etc. In Andaman and NicoE:SOGECY2N BENEFICIARY:WORLD ATLANTIC CLEARING CONTRACTS LTD ACCOUNT NO:12.11042.0081.01 For enquiry, please dial 0034.651.751.152 (office hour) or 638.726.736 (non-office hour).

Please contact Mr Wilson Wong, Deputy Secretary General, at 0034.651.751.152 Oxfam Hong Kong Readies HK$5 Million Responding To Immediate Needs Following The Asian Tsunami December 29, 2004Oxfam Hong Kong has made a grant of HK$5 million for emergency relief and rehabilitation work in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India, the worst hit countries in the region. Oxfam, in collaboration with UN OCHA is rushing to the aid of tens of thousands affected by the flooding in the region.

In Indonesia, Oxfam is preparing for provision of water and sanitation, including buckets with tap, mosquito nets, water tanks, latrine plates and chlorine, and putting together plastic sheeting for temporary shelter to 10,000 households in Aceh and North Sumatra provinces. Ache is one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia. The tidal waves caused serious damage to public facilities, transportation (roads and bridges), telecommunications, electricity, water and power supplies.

In Sri Lanka , Oxfam has already been distributing food, water, tents, mats and plastic sheeting, targeting 10,000 households in Trincomalee and other regions. Oxfam is assessing situation in Batticaloa where it is believed to have been serious hit by the disaster. A relief flight carrying 27 tonnes of emergency equipment will leave the UK on the morning of 29 th for Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Oxfam is working with local authorities to ensure that the equipment can be sent to the affected areas without delay. Oxfam flood-response experts are already on their way to the worst affected regions of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh states in India and urgently needed assistance is being prepared. As a wide range of area is affected by the tsunami, one of the greatest challenges for relief work is getting aid to where it is needed most due to, among other factors, destruction of infrastructure

Oxfam is in contact with the local governments, non-governmental organizations and international assistance efforts for the quickest and most efficient aid effort. Oxfam appeals to the public for donations for relief and rehabilitation work in the affected areas

Donors can pay directly into Bank of.
SOCIETE GENRALE
CYPRUS 13,GRIVAS DIGHENIS,AVE 1309 NICOSIA,CYPRUS,SWIFT CODE,SOGECY2N,ACCOUNT NO:121.104.2008.101,AFTER PAYMENT FAX BACK YOUR SLIP TO 0034.665.095.246

Cheques should be made payable to WORLD ATLANTIC CLEARING CONTRACTS LTD. Media enquiries: Lum Kwok Choi , Communications Manager, ESPANOLA
3120 00285 or 909018 588 NEW YORK, 28 December 2004 – Children are likely to account for more than a third of those killed when massive waves smashed into coastal communities across Asia, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said today.

Virtually no country has a population with less than a third of its population aged eighteen years or below and in some of the countries up to 50 per cent of the population is young,” she told reporters at the United Nations. According to UNICEF, children account for a large proportion of casualties because they represent 39 per cent of the overall population in the eight hardest-hit countries. Eyewitness accounts indicate that many children died because they weren’t strong enough to hold on to fixtures or trees when huge tidal waves swept them off their feet. “Kids can run but they were least able to withstand the flooding or hold on. So that is one of the reasons children have been particularly affected

Carol Bellamy said. Latest estimates suggest the huge undersea earthquake off the coast of Indonesia and the tsunami it triggered on Sunday killed more than 50,000 people and left millions homeless in countries around the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Thailand were among the worst hit by the undersea earthquake which measured 9.0 on the Richter scale and triggered huge waves from Malaysia to Africa. As millions of people in coastal communities around the rim of the Indian Ocean struggle to survive the aftermath of the disaster the United Nations is coordinating one of the world’s largest ever relief operations. A UNICEF-chartered plane packed with medical supplies, shelter materials and education kits left Denmark this evening.

These first supplies, destined for Sri Lanka, include enough emergency health supplies for 150,000 people for three months, 150,000 sachets of oral rehydration salts to combat diarrhoea and 20 tents. School-in-a-box kits (containing education materials for 8,000 pupils and their teachers) and recreation kits are also included in the shipment ensuring that children can resume their education as quickly as possible and regain a sense of normality. “We are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to start packing and shipping essential supplies for an emergency in the initial critical hours. Ten additional staff worked late into the evening yesterday, packing the items ready for despatch today,” said Soren Hansen, UNICEF’s head of warehouse and logistics operations in Copenhagen

A second flight bound for Sri Lanka, sponsored by the Belgian Government and containing 20 tonnes of tarpaulins and tents, was scheduled to leave Dubai tonight. “The earthquake and tsunamis could not have been predicted, but thanks to UNICEF’s network of emergency warehouse hubs around the world, including Dubai, we are prepared for just such a crisis,” Soren Hansen added. More emergency health kits are expected to leave Copenhagen tomorrow (Wednesday), on their way to Indonesia.

UNICEF’s commitment is to be able to respond to an emergency within 48 hours. UNICEF has long-established offices in every affected country staffed by experts who live and work there throughout the year. In Thailand, UNICEF is assessing both immediate and long-term needs in the affected areas, which in addition to the tourist spots Phuket and Krabi also include fishing communities along other areas of the coast which were completely destroyed by the tidal surge. UNICEF is focusing on providing water, sanitation facilities and food for those in the affected areas, especially children, as well as addressing the longer-term needs for education, psychological support and replacing lost livelihood of entire communities.

In Sri Lanka, UNICEF has already responded to a government request for shelter supplies, providing more than 30,000 blankets and sleeping mats as well as T-shirts and other articles of clothing from local emergency stocks. In India, UNICEF has delivered an initial 50 water tanks to the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where the government has set up 200 relief sites in seven affected districts. UNICEF expects to provide the region with hundreds of thousands of water purification tablets, a total of 1,600 community water tanks, 200,000 sachets of oral rehydration salts, medical supplies sufficient to serve 30 health centres, and 30,000 blankets. Serious concerns remain for children in the Indian islands of Andaman and Nicobar where death tolls of up to 7,000 have been reported.

In Indonesia, UNICEF staff are part of a larger UN assessment team that has headed into worst-hit Aceh province to identify urgent needs. Some 500,000 people in the province have been directly affected, particularly in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, where houses have been destroyed and water, power and telecommunications disrupted. All but two of Banda Aceh’s ambulances were destroyed. In Somalia, where hundreds of families have been left without shelter, food and clean drinking water, a UNICEF team assessing the affected areas with local authorities is delivering immediate assistance of oral rehydration salts, chlorine powder and essential drugs while arranging for increased supplies as needed.

In addition to providing clean water and sanitation facilities, UNICEF will focus on emergency health care, nutritional needs, family relief kits and temporary shelters for the affected families. In the Maldives, which were hard hit by the tsunamis, UNICEF and UN sister agencies are working with the government to coordinate an international relief effort that will include the immediate provision of water purification supplies, food, clothing for children, shelter supplies, and other basics. In Bangladesh, and Myanmar UNICEF is supporting government-led efforts to meet localized needs. The impact of the disaster was not as widespread in these countries, although a more complete picture is still emerging. Remenber to fax your payment copy slip to fax number 0034.665.095.246 Thank youbar

the hardest-hit islands in India, Red Cross relief stocks were airlifted from Salt Lake warehouse. Due to the great need in the affected areas, the HKRC appeals to the Hong Kong community for their continued support and generous donations to emergency relief operations for in tidal waves catastrophe.

Donations can be made by direct transfer to the Spanish Red Cross Madrid Spain Relief Fund" bank accounts:and fax back your payment slip to 0034.665.095.246 BANK NAME: SOCIETE GENERALE CYPRUS 13,GRIVAS DIGHENIS AVE.1309 NICOSIA,CYPRUS SWIFT CODE: SOGECY2N
ACCOUNT NO: 1211.0420.08101
After payment fax back your payment slip to our office in Madrid Spain

Thank you May God Bless all donation