Christine Lampard was left disgusted on Wednesday's Lorraine, after being informed of a horrifying charity scam set up to exploit people's sympathy for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
It's now been close to two weeks, since the quake, which mainly affected southern Turkey and northern Syria, reduced buildings to rubble across the Middle Eastern countries - with fatalities now reaching over 33,000. Relief funds have been set up across the world to raise money for those affected, as well as a series of fundraising events, but, as she hosted her third Lorraine show of the week, Christine received word of criminals who've been trying to con charitable people out of money and keeping it for themselves.
Christine was joined in the ITV studio by by consumer expert Claire Barrett, who revealed the grim details of the scam, after the host had described what she'd heard as "horrendous," adding: "Scammers are already trying to profit from the Turkey/Syria earthquake. How anyone can even fathom this is beyond me, but it's happening."
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Claire explained: "Now people are putting up pictures of the earthquake devastation in Turkey and Syria on social media and linking to a donate button; pulling on people's heartstrings. But when they donate, the money is not going to a charity, it's going to them."
As Christine shook her head in disgust, Claire continued: "It's going directly into their accounts or into their digital wallet."
Giving advice to anyone who may come across the scam, the expert told viewers at home: "Simple rule: never donate on social media. Only go to the charity's registered page and if you can afford to give your money, God bless you."
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