TULSA, Okla. — The Better Business Bureau of Tulsa is warning us about potential online scammers posing as potential victims or family members from the Saint Francis shooting. The good news is so far there hasn’t been a scam linked to last week’s shooting in Tulsa, the bad news is, it is something they expect to see pop up.
It’s the nature of any scam. Going after the vulnerable.
“This tragedy hit everybody in Tulsa and the surrounding areas so hard. We’re going to be apt to want to give, that’s our first inclination is to give, and unfortunately people get the best of us when our hearts are involved,” said President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Tulsa, Amie Mitchell.
Since the targeted shooting at the Natalie medical building, our entire community has been heartbroken. Amie Mitchell with the BBB of Tulsa says scammers could use this tragedy to their advantage.
“Lucky for Tulsa we haven’t seen anything, maybe we’ve done a good job being on top of it, but it doesn’t mean it won’t happen and we expect it to happen unfortunately,” said Mitchell.
Mitchell says the types of scams they’re seeing are when people hack into someone social media. The scammer poses at that individual, creates a new page using the real persons pictures, and asks for money.
“Those are really hot topic right now,” said Mitchell.
Use legitimate sources to find links to donation pages. Like fox23-dot com for example. On crowd funding pages, look for specific details for what the money being raised will go towards.
“You want to make sure wherever you’re donating to it’s going to purpose. Meaning, are they going to go towards funeral expenses, medical expenses, whatever it might be,” said Mitchell.
If it’s vague, Mitchell says you don’t know where that money is going. Another tip, trust your gut. If you must question it, it could be fake.
Check for weird emails. If there are numbers or misspellings, it’s likely a scam. You can also report any scam to the BBB of Tulsa.
You can learn more information on the BBB of Tulsa’s website.