# National Criminal Intelligence Service warns of fake tsunami appeals - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2005/01/12/national-criminal-intelligence-service-warns-fake-tsunami-appeals/ - Published: 2005-01-12T00:00:00+00:00 - Author: Howard Lake The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) have identified a number of web and email scams set up to cash in on the tsunami emergency appeals. NCIS is warning of at least three types of email scams. First, criminals are sending unsolicited emails offering to locate, for a fee, family members who may have victims of the disaster. Secondly, unsolicited emails asking for money to be deposited in overseas bank accounts in the name of charities that turn out to be non-existent. Thirdly,‘ phishing’ emails which try to acquire personal or financial information in an effort to retrieve large amounts of inheritance funds tied up in relation to the tsunami disaster. Other criminals have set up websites masquerading as charity websites, soliciting donations. At least one fraudulent site contains an embedded object that can infect computers with a virus if accessed. NCIS has published advice to the public on how to avoid falling for these scams. ## Advertisement [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/) Any suspicious tsunami appeal-related communications should be forward to NCIS at forward the details to NCIS at [ts**********@************ov.uk](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/mailto:ts**********@************ov.uk). * **[UK commercial radio stations launch UK Radio Aid for DEC tsunami appeal](https://fundraising.co.uk/2005/01/14/uk-commercial-radio-stations-launch-uk-radio-aid-dec-tsunami-appeal/)**( 14 January 2005) * **[Bango offers users SMS donation facility for DEC's tsunami appeal](https://fundraising.co.uk/2005/01/17/bango-offers-users-sms-donation-facility-dec039s-tsunami-appeal/)**( 17 January 2005) * **[New email virus masquerades as tsunami fundraising appeal](https://fundraising.co.uk/2005/01/26/new-email-virus-masquerades-tsunami-fundraising-appeal/)**( 26 January 2005)