Better Business Bureau gives tips on avoiding Ukraine charity scams

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – As an ongoing war happens in Ukraine, some can take advantage of the situation and create scams.

Whitney Adkins, the director of strategic marketing at the Better Business Bureau branch in Louisville, gave some tips on avoiding scams that can prey on tugged heart strings.

The BBB has not seen an increase in these scams yet, but Adkins warns they can happen whenever there is an international emergency.

Adkins said she highly recommends verifying the charity you donate to through BBB. You can visit give.org, a website run and managed by BBB to look up any charity, whether they are BBB accredited or not, and see reports.

She also recommends well-established charities since they have established networks that ensure money goes where it should, including overseas.

Finally, she said to be cautious if there are vague descriptions about the charity, such as who they are or where the donations are going. If you can’t ask where the money is going and get specific answers, that can be a red flag.

“Anyone can pull photos online and claim that it’s someone they know in Ukraine, claim that it’s a Ukrainian family that they have close ties to, or whatever the case may be,” said Adkins. “It doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true, so you want to approach with caution. Again, do your research, make sure that you trust, if you choose to give to a crowd funding source, just make sure that you trust, again, that the money is going to where you want it to go.”

When asked about fake Tiktok lives pretending to be in Ukraine, Adkins said to watch out for social media pleas for money as well where someone could falsely claim to be Ukrainian.

“I think a lot of us want to do good and want to contribute and help in any way we can. The best way we can do that is by getting to a source we trust. Because then we know that money is going toward folks that need it most right now, and it’s going to resources they need right now.”

Adkins said the best option for donations is monetary donations as opposed to materials goods so the assistance can reach overseas more easily.