{"id":322078,"date":"2026-08-15T14:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T14:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/322078\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T14:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T14:32:15","slug":"ag-james-warns-of-charity-scams-in-wake-of-devastating-earthquake-in-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/322078\/","title":{"rendered":"AG James warns of charity scams in wake of devastating earthquake in Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"

State Attorney General Letitia James<\/a> urged New Yorkers Thursday to be cautious and carefully vet their charitable donations to avoid bad actors and scams as New Yorkers look to rally funding behind relief efforts in the wake of Monday\u2019s devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Colombia.<\/p>\n

She reminded those who wish to support the aid efforts that scammers are especially active following national disasters and released tips<\/a> for ensuring New Yorkers\u2019 generosity winds up in safe and effective hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart breaks for all those impacted by this devastating earthquake in Colombia and their families and loved ones at home here in New York,\u201d said James. \u201cAs New Yorkers generously seek to support relief efforts, I urge them to be careful of sham charities and make sure they are giving to trustworthy organizations and groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

The massive quake happened in the Northwest region of Colombia at around 7:30 Monday morning. As of Thursday, the death toll surpassed 280 people, with hundreds still unaccounted for in the hardest hit areas.<\/p>\n

\"IsraeliIsraeli rescuers work amid the rubble of the Edificio Vanessa in the aftermath of an earthquake in Cali, Colombia, August 14, 2026.Photo: REUTERS\/Raquel Cunha<\/p>\n

For thousands of New Yorkers, particularly in Queens, where the Colombian population is over 75,000, according to the Department of City Planning<\/a>, the disaster is personal. Colombian New Yorkers in Jackson Heights, home to \u201clittle Colombia,\u201d organized local drives<\/a> and relief efforts collecting donations like hygiene products, emergency supplies, baby supplies and first aid products.<\/p>\n

But in the online age, James reminded New Yorkers to think twice before trusting an unverified email, website, or social media post soliciting donations for the relief effort. The states\u2019 legal watchdog said that it\u2019s worth the extra effort to do a little research before providing any personal information or credit card details.<\/p>\n

Even if a friend, family member, neighbor or influencer suggests a specific charity, James said not to assume that they\u2019ve done their research\u2014 always verify. Tools and organizations like the Charity Watch<\/a>, Charity Navigator<\/a> and ProPublica\u2019s Nonprofit Explorer<\/a> can help donors assess potential charitable organizations.<\/p>\n

James also encouraged New Yorker to report suspicious charities.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI encourage anyone who experiences any issues when donating to contact my office,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

Here are a few ways to give:\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Colombian Red Cross<\/a>
On the ground, emergency services\n<\/p>\n

CARE<\/a>
Established presence in the country focused on ending hunger and poverty\n<\/p>\n

United Nations Regional Humanitarian Fund<\/a>
A pooled fund managed by the UN and directed to trusted local partner NGOs<\/p>\n

Global Giving<\/a>
A managed fund distributed directly to local organizations\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

World Central Kitchen<\/a>
Provides food and water to people impacted by the earthquake<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"State Attorney General Letitia James urged New Yorkers Thursday to be cautious and carefully vet their charitable donations…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322079,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10],"class_list":["post-322078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}