I suppose it is to be expected that there would be some sick people who would want to profit from the recent events. Please be as certain as you can that your donations go to a reputable organization.

The following is an exerpt from an email I just received from my ISP:

The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email ( CAUCE) and the SpamCon Foundation warned Wednesday that con artists are concocting online fraud to profit from the gruesome attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, which may have killed thousands of people.

The groups say that most online scams come in the form of unsolicited e-mail, or spam, and postings in community forums soliciting donations for victims and survivors of the attacks. A typical message claims to be part of an "Express Relief Fund" or "Victims Survivor Fund." Another widespread e-mail solicited donations for the Red Cross, but the link led to a Web site unconnected with the popular, nonprofit relief organization.

The agencies cautioned would-be donors to verify the solicitor's identity through another medium such as the telephone before donating money through credit cards or sending checks.

"Virtually no bona fide relief agencies request funds by sending e-mail to people who are not already involved in that agency," CAUCE and SpamCon warned in a joint statement. "Solicitations made in this way may also violate laws in the United States and Europe."

Another group, Internet Scambusters, warned that con artists were setting up legitimate-looking Web sites for donations. The group provided a list of reputable organizations that were taking donations--including Redcross.org, Unitedway.org, Helping.org...