How can sincere online appeals for help be distinguished from scams??

October 4, 2008 6:23 PM

How can one help strangers who request help online (not the email requests, please!!) without falling for scams? How can we distinguish sincere pleas from the unscrupulous ones?

Hey fellow Metafilterians (sounds like aliens!).

I've been a member for some time, and, inspired especially by how we are all able to help each other with information and advice,

have been thinking about setting up a website that members could not just ask for information or advice (as here) but present appeals for help. Those members with resources could choose which appeals they were best equipped and inclined to help. (For example, my expertise is writing and education and finance, and I am always a sucker for helping children in need, so I would be more inclined to help requests in these areas than in others where my expertise or limited time and resources would be less helpful.)

The few friends I've floated the idea by all voiced the same concern: wouldn't con artists and other predators be able to use such a site to take advantage of the good will of others (such as we encounter every day in email appeals: "Good sir, I am a businessman in Kenya who needs to find a safe place for his life savings. . .", "Dear Friend, I am a single parent who is facing eviction, and is trying to support three young children as best I can . . .").

I refuse to give up on this idea. SURELY there's a way to "vet" (verify) appeals to find out which ones are legitimate (and deserving of help), and which ones should be scorned (and exposed to the community's censure and expelled).

Perhaps the solution is email or identify verification, and requiring the help to be channelled through local third parties (for distant appeals) who can make sure everything is on the up and up.

Thoughts?

Thanks everyone.

Adam Robinson

posted by adamrobinson to human relations (5 comments total)

You know, I used to work for a government department whose whole reason for being was to help and who had immense resources to verify whether or not someone deserved or needed help, and still we got it wrong. In fact, in my opinion, the more hoops there are to jump through, the more likely it is that someone will miss out on the help they need.

The next problem is a subjective one. If we're talking financial help (for example), we understand that we have limited financial resources, but there is unlimited need. So, who gets it? Is it someone who's worked hard all their life, and has a small savings account, or someone who has been a free spirit and has nothing?

I think one way that probably would result in less rorting of the system is if you connected people to each other to donate time. If you actually know the person who's spending time helping you garden or babysit or get through chores, you're less likely (though it's not impossible) to want to stiff them.

I'm afraid that any local organisation who has the means to verify a person's circumstances to the extent that you can make a decision about their need, is unlikely to want so spend resources that way. Any other organisation can be faked. For example, your government department that provides services to the needy won't have time to be writing letters to the administrators of your site; a local church letterhead can be faked.

There are some really good organisations out there already doing stuff, all over the world. If the help you're proposing to administer involves money, why not involve yourself in one of them. They're set up, they have experience in assessing needs, and you're not detouring funds from people who know what they're doing, to people who could be scamming you.
posted by b33j at 6:43 PM on October 4, 2008

Modestneeds sounds a lot like what you're looking to set up.
posted by wyzewoman at 6:51 PM on October 4, 2008

Thanks WyzeWoman, (and b33j), the modestneeds site seems to have clearly thought about and solved at least some of the problems I've been wrestling with (though of course there are more ways to help than just financial).
posted by adamrobinson at 6:55 PM on October 4, 2008

Modestneeds was what first came to mind for me, too. I think the answer is to get personally involved: instead of writing the check, go visit them and cook them dinner. You can eventually give financial help, but I think wiring people money over the Internet is just asking for trouble. Lots of scammers are really uncreative, but there are also those that are super-slick, so I think personal involvement somewhere along the line is important. (And when you're satisfied that they really do need your help, you get the added bonus of having been able to meet the people you'll help!)

I know some people who worked to start a microfinance agency in Africa. While they set up a central website for collecting and requesting funds, they also had volunteers who would go around and meet applicants, assess their need, and then guide them through how to best invest it. This made it much harder to abuse the system.

While I wouldn't ever advocate helping people sleazy enough to pass themselves off as disabled / needy / down on their luck when they're not, I think there's a case to be made that anyone doing such is in need of help?

For services, I'm not sure there's as much of a temptation to defraud people. Helping someone write a resume or cooking them dinner really has no 'resale value,' so the only risk would be someone able but lazy letting you do work for them. (And I would again posit that someone that pathetic did actually need the help?)
posted by fogster at 7:11 PM on October 4, 2008

Percy Ross was able to do this for 17 years. I imagine the process involved call backs, some basic vetting, and having them send you stuff like a photocopy of their license or ID. I think you'll have to expect some fraud, because you'll never be able to fight fraud 100% of the time.
posted by damn dirty ape at 7:36 PM on October 4, 2008