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BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DONATION It all started with an email allegedly from Israel, warning of someone soliciting funds from benevolent souls, for Israeli victims of terrorism. Tell me something I don't know. Welcome to reality television has yet to focus on, Jews being part of the colloquial charitable bad and ugly. The email, blasted worldwide with one keyboard click, went something like, "Do you know of XYZ? He is scamming funds in the Five Towns, Boca Raton and so on. There is a detective working on the case. The FBI is involved. Pass forward. Send details." Names are immaterial. Fill in the blanks. Like NY taxis, cons come along every minute. No. No. No, I responded to the trusting individual who sent the request, asking: What is the crime? Where? Who's charged? By whom? What government agency? America or Israel? Do you know the person who sent you the email? Did you meet them on-line? Do they really live in Israel as the email address purports? Do they even exist? What will happen to the details you provide? Who filed the crime report? Did you speak to them? Are they willing to press charges? Go to court? And what is the name of the detective and the FBI agent? And how is your day, otherwise. An innovation of the Jewish net is the ability to share news in a stroke of a key. This Wild West of technological communication is an equal opportunity for bad to incubate, as well as good. While a missing deaf Jewish youth was located within days of his walk-a-bout, a forwarded email seeking assistance on a crime might be a crime in process, itself. People masquerade safe from detection, in this virtual world. Phantoms send warnings requesting the email be forwarded, in actuality, gathering data for marketers and purveyors of email addresses. Attached cookies take the scammer along with your journey on the net. Spyware, then, infiltrates PC's, pirating computers away from owner's. Personal information, like credit card numbers, can be stolen, undetected, from computer transactions. A check front provides details a con needs for Identity Theft. Numbers written on the front bottom left are the bank branch location, followed with the account number. Toss in your name and life takes on a new dimension. The thief's. In the same way, these details facilitate utility payments, scammers are assisted ordering items on-line, with you finding out when your credit rating has been trashed from on-line porn account or items ordered from e-stores around the world. Cancelled checks exacerbate betrayal a person feels, by providing other identifying details like drivers license and other numbers, part of building the new you. Responding to "Send me copies of your checks because they may have been cashed by an alleged fraud," seem innocuous enough. Why not mitigate trust damage and give the stranger the key to your front door, saving time by dispensing with the residual violation and anger. Charitable giving from American individuals, estates, foundations and corporations, rose in 2003 by the highest rate since the terrorist attacks began three years ago, increasing to $240.7 billion from $234.1 billion in 2002. No study has been done, as of yet, to see if the two are related. Potential victims can take steps to protect themselves. Before giving funds, verify the charity and fundraiser by calling the IRS, and federal, state and local charity registering agencies. Paying handsomely for a stranger's sob story, without duress, force or verification, is not a crime. It's called being human. In this instance, the scare-mail came from someone who did not receive back a bullet proof vest, complete with real bullet, from a stranger they let into their home. Despite the global alert, the alleged con might never be prosecuted. He was given the vest. A mentor told me, get to know people over time before you bring them into your house. Because when they walk out the door, signed check in hand, the police may respond with the classic answer a detective gave a woman whose ex forged her name on a $30,000 corporate check, "Lady, will you marry me?" Law enforcement has standards of criminal pursuit. Larceny is under $400; grand theft is above. Once, the FBI's benchmark was $50,000. Giving money to a stranger when there is no gun to your head is another story in Barnum's portfolio of suckers born every minute. Caveat Emptor. Beware. Think with your head, not your heart. Must the check must be written this second or provide details, right now. Why not a week? Two? A month? In this case, the victims are the people who received the forwarded email set into motion by one person putting individuals at risk, blindly pursuing chesed, giving a stranger a vest, before vetting him. Brother, can you spare a donation?