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In the wake of the terrorist attack that has become a national tragedy, those who are not directly affected are reaching out to help--possibly even through a mouse click.

Charity Web sites that accept contributions are not new. Unfortunately, neither are attempts to take advantage of people's generosity, online or not.

You can easily contribute to the rescue and assistance efforts online through such well-known establishments as the American Red Cross and United Way of New York. However, be cautious of some of those well-meaning e-mail appeals that are starting to surface.

Misdirected Offers

Spam scams purportedly collecting money for New Yorkers may instead be lining the pockets of the senders. The scams are coming in three different flavors, says Tom Geller, executive director of SpamCon Foundation, which works to stop unsolicited e-mail. Through some, your contribution may reach its intended destination, but your personal information might be picked up along the way.

Some spammers are bulk e-mailing messages with legitimate links and information on how to help victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks. The catch occurs when you "click" on a hyperlink in the e-mail, for example to the Red Cross, and the spammer confirms your e-mail address is valid, Geller says. That's important for spam senders to know, because often bulk e-mail lists owned by spammers are filled with inactive or non-existent e-mail addresses.

Another type of e-mail scam refers recipients to a Web page that, again, contains legitimate lists of resources and links to charitable organizations. Those sites are riddled with banner ads and links that, when clicked, earn money for the Web site's owner.

Outright deception is the nastiest trick. Reports have already began trickling into anti-spam advocates such as Ken Lucke, who maintains an anti-spam mailing list.

"These scumbags don't waste any time," Lucke says of opportunists who quickly establish false charities and fronts for contributions that may not go where the givers intend.

Follow the Money

Some donation sites have dubious authenticity, although they may not actually be scams. For example, at one site, you can click to donate between $25 to $250 to the Red Cross. According to the site itself, it has no affiliation to the Red Cross. It also posts a disclaimer stating that donated money goes to a combination of charities, and 10 percent of donated funds go to "administration costs."

"Just use your common sense," Lucke says. Geller urges people to donate only directly to well-established organizations such as the Red Cross.

The Internet Scambusters newsletter says it also has received reports of spammers sending out e-mails asking for assistance for "emergency relief funds" and directing recipients to contribute money to the Red Cross through the spammers' Web sites.

"Many of these spammers are trying to steal money and credit card numbers," the group says. "Do not respond to these e-mails."

The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail also warns of online attempts to fraudulently profit from the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Better Bets

You can easily make contributions through established sites that aggregate charitable contributions to various causes. For example, Helping.org has set up a number of links to organizations helping with recovery after the September 11 attacks. The site also has a searchable database of more than 600,000 national nonprofit organizations.

Several companies are also promoting donations. Amazon.com is promoting and accepting contributions to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Both the electronic bill-paying site Paypal and Yahoo's competing PayDirect e-payment service are providing ways to directly send contribution payments to established relief organizations.

Tips for Careful Giving

It pays to be careful with your contributions, online or otherwise. Angelika Geiger, chief operating officer of Entango, which designs online-donation technologies, offers this checklist to help you ensure that your hard-earned contribution is securely and accurately transmitted online.

• Verify that the organization is a charity. "A dot-org [domain extension] doesn't necessarily mean they are a legitimate charity," Geiger says. Before you donate, check with sites such as the Better Business Bureau Online, the National Charities Information Bureau, or the American Institute of Philanthropy to find out more about an organization. Also watch out for sites with names that sound similar to those of national organizations.
  
  
• Check out a site's privacy policy. "See how they plan to use your name," Geiger says. Some will sell the list of names they collect. A lack of a privacy policy may be a sign, she says, or you can call the site or company and ask about its policy.
  
  
• Verify security is in place. "Use common-sense precautions," she says. It's the same as making an online purchase, so be sure the site has a URL that includes "https" to indicate it's secure, shows a padlock in your browser's status bar, or displays a Verisign logo before you enter your credit card information.
  
  

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