NC Attorney General warns about food drive scams
AT NUMBER 7 AND RALEIGH, DURHAM
AT NUMBER. 35, LET'S STAY ON
THAT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN TOPIC
FOR JUST A MOMENT BECAUSE WE'RE
HEARING ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE.
SCAMMERS WHO ARE TRYING TO
EXPLOIT THIS MOMENT OF
VULNERABILITY. SEE THERE.
THERE ARE ADS OUT THERE RIGHT
NOW THAT THAT LOOK LIKE THEY
ARE FOOD DRIVES, BUT THEY'RE
NOT. THEY'RE FAKE. JUST A SCAM.
REALLY, TO GET YOUR INFORMATION
AND YOUR MONEY, WHETHER YOU ARE
IN NEED OR WHETHER YOU ARE
TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE OUT.
NORTH CAROLINA'S ATTORNEY PUT
OUT A WARNING ABOUT THESE TODAY
AND WRAL'S CARLY HAYNES
EXPLAINS HOW YOU CAN SPOT
THESE. WHAT ARE THE RED FLAGS?
>> IT'S A DESPERATE TIME FOR A
LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE RIGHT
NOW. AND THERE ARE RESOURCES
ACTUAL RESOURCES THAT THEY
COULD TURN TO SUCH AS FOOD.
BANKS ARE CHARITY, FOOD DRIVES
OR EVEN RESTAURANTS THAT ARE
HANDING OUT FOOD. BUT YOU'VE
GOT TO KNOW WHICH OPTIONS ARE
REAL.
>> GETTING MEALS INTO THE HANDS
OF THE HUNGRY WHEN WE SEE
NEIGHBORS IN NEED. WE WANT TO
HELP ANY WAY WE POSSIBLY CAN.
DURHAM RESCUE MISSION, PUT THIS
FOOD DRIVE TOGETHER IN DAYS.
DOZENS SHOWED UP THE DEMAND FOR
FOOD IS SOARING AS SNAP USERS
ARE STILL WAITING FOR PARTIAL
FUNDS TO HIT THEIR ACCOUNTS
WERE NOT GOING TO SIT IDLY BY
AND HOPE WASHINGTON FIGURES.
THIS THING OUT. THIS DRIVE
BROUGHT LEGITIMATE HEALTH.
BUT ACCORDING TO ATTORNEY
GENERAL JEFF JACKSON, NOT
EVERYONE HAS GOOD INTENTION.
WE ARE STARTING TO HEAR SCAMS.
RELATED TO FOOD DRIVES FAKE
FOOD DRIVES POPPING UP AND
DISTRIBUTING LINKS AND ASKING
FOR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS,
FAKE FOOD DRIVE ADS ARE HITTING
FACEBOOK FOR YEARS. WE HAD TO
GO GET YOUR MONEY OR YOUR
PERSONAL INFORMATION. WE
CLICKED ON A LINK. THE TITLE
OF A WEB PAGE SAYS HUMAN
SUPPORT USA. LOOK IT UP.
AND THAT IS THAT A REAL
CHARITY? WE DID A REVERSE IMAGE
SEARCH AND SAW THOSE SAME
PHOTOS POPPING AROUND THE
COUNTRY. IT'S INFURIATING,
FRANKLY, WHEN YOU SEE SCAMMERS
POPPING UP AND TRYING TO PRAY
PEOPLE'S GOODWILL CHARITIES
SAY AVOID THOSE ADDING TO THE
HURT AND MAKE WAY FOR THOSE
TRYING TO HELP.
SOME WEBSITES MAY POSE AS
LEGITIMATE CHARITIES SO VERIFY
THOSE CHARITIES ANOTHER WAY
BY CALLING THEM DIRECTLY.
>> CARLY HAYNES, WRAL NEWS,
RALEIGH BOY, THERE ARE SOME
HEARTLESS PEOPLE OUT THERE.
AREN'T THERE.
>> NOW, LOOK, IF YOU NEED FOOD
ASSISTANCE, WE WANT YOU TO BE
CAREFUL ABOUT ALL OF THIS.
WE WANT TO HELP AS WELL.
WE HAVE SOME SOME INFORMATION,
THE QR CODE ON YOUR SCREEN
RIGHT NOW. CAN TAKE YOU TO A
LIST AT WRAL HAS COMPILED A
LIST OF RESOURCES AS PEOPLE
WAIT FOR THOSE PARTIAL
PAYMENTS. SO YOU MIGHT NEED
SOME OF THIS. YOU CAN FIND
INFORMATION ON FOOD ASSISTANCE
AND HOW YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO
ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE PROVIDING
THAT ASSISTANCE. IF YOU WANT TO
GIVE BACK A BIT, YOU CAN ALWAYS