I am thoroughly relieved to know that jojo and Ginger are well and that Pamela and Louie are safe. I've been mourning NO all week in general and Jojo's stately old home in particular -- all this on top of my son deploying to Iraq last week.

The dark hairs are rapidly becoming overcome by the grey these days!

In the mean time, I thought I'd pass on an alert I received from our local BBB (I'm on the board of directors and get all sorts of news blurbs). It's a bit long, but important to note the warning:

BEWARE CLICKING HYPERLINKS EMBEDDED IN UNSOLICITED CHARITY APPEAL EMAILS:
Donating Online? Go DIRECTLY to Charity's Web Site or Local Chapter

Spokane, WA - September 2, 2005 - This morning, a consumer inquired with TheLocalBBB regarding a SPAM email his cousin passed onto him, asking if it was a legitimate disaster relief appeal.

The email purports to be from the American Red Cross with a Subject Line: Situation Critical-Emergency Mobilization Underway

The email begins:
Thank you for supporting the Hurricane 2005 Relief operation by contributing to the American Red Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief and Other Events designation. To reduce donor wait times caused by high volume, the American Red Cross has partnered with Yahoo! to help handle donation processing.

And goes on to specifically ask for donations for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and has a shopping cart set up for credit card donations online. The link provided is: https:/www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp
How do you know it's for real? While we don't suggest that people take all of these measures to find out if they have something real or not, the BBB did the following to see what would reveal itself:

1. The bottom of the page has a purple icon that states "hosted by YAHOO." If you click on that icon, it takes you to the Small Business page of YAHOO. We called the 800# on that page and talked to a YAHOO rep who confirmed that that was one of their store pages, but he couldn't verify the actual resource.

2. The number listed in the SPAM email is correct for Red Cross Hotline donations: 800-HELP-NOW. If you place that phone number into the Google search, it will confirm this.

3. We then took the link and placed it into the Google search, as well, and the results show that this link is the official link for donating to the Red Cross. You will see in this search how this link was, in the past, given out by a number of organizations during the Tsunami disaster efforts.

4. We clicked on ALL Privacy Statements and it took us to legitimate places. All reliability seals, etc. worked and took us to the official Red Cross site.

5. We went through the steps of "donating" at the donate page, and when we were ready to "finalize" it took us to a secure page----a closed lock was at the bottom right-hand of the screen.

Should EVERYBODY take these steps simply to confirm whether an unsolicited email is legitimate or not? Not at all. When in doubt, delete! Here are some tips if you receive such an email:

*Go DIRECTLY to the official American Red Cross web site to donate if that is your desire. However, the fact is that the American Red Cross web site is being SWAMPED. So, find your local chapter office and make a donation directly to them.


*Be wary of clicking on ANY hyperlinks embedded in SPAM emails, etc. In fact, just don't do it. Delete it and find a more reliable resource to donate.

*Give to organizations you are familiar with, and believe in. Ask how your donation will be used. If you want a break down of how the charity spends its donations and contributions, go to: www.give.org, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance web site and use their search. Also confirm the organization's registration with your state's Secretary of State Charities Division.

*Don't let a SPAM email inspire you or grab your emotions TOO easily or quickly to make you want to click this and that without knowing what you are clicking. Slow down. Take your time. Do your research, and donate WISELY. This disaster will not be going away anytime soon, and will need many peoples' donations and help over a long period of time.