Direct Relief was alerted this morning by one of its long-time volunteers of a potential phishing scam. The volunteer received a call from someone who claimed to be raising donations for Nepal on behalf of Direct Relief. Direct Relief does NOT make solicitations by phone. Direct Relief employs NO external fundraising solicitors. In the rare instance you receive a call from a Direct Relief staff member, it would be to thank you for a donation you already gave or to invite you to volunteer or to an event.

As there is only one report so far, this may be an isolated incident or a misunderstanding, but it is better to be overcautious in such situations. If you or someone you know has received a solicitation call from someone claiming to be from Direct Relief, please write to info@directrelief.org. Also, please help protect others by sharing this update.

Funds are legitimately needed to help people in Nepal. Beyond diverting funds that are needed for the response, scams of this sort take advantage of people’s goodwill and undermine their trust in charitable giving.

Donor privacy and security are of the utmost importance to Direct Relief, which is why Direct Relief takes such reports so seriously. Direct Relief will file a claim today with the Federal Trade Commission, notify appropriate law enforcement, and aggressively pursue any such illegal conduct.

Please see Direct Relief’s donation and privacy statements for information:

Direct Relief Privacy Policy: Direct Relief does not sell, share, rent, trade, barter, peddle, swap or otherwise disclose donor information to any outside party. Direct Relief also has a policy of not sending mail to donors on behalf of other organizations.

Nepal Earthquake Donation Policy: Direct Relief will use all contributions designated for the Nepal Earthquake solely for relief and recovery efforts related to the Nepal Earthquake.

Thank you for your support.