Those touched by the Haiti earthquake tragedy who would like to give donations are being warned by the FBI of bogus online donation scams. Internet security expert Joel Esler says hundreds of Internet addresses related to Haiti have been registered since the quake. Many of them will probably refer people to legitimate charity sites, but many more will probably be bogus. The money will never make it to the relief fund or your credit card information will be taken for later misuse.

Some internet search terms related to Haiti are turning up dangerous Web pages. Referred to as "search engine poisoning", criminals use software tools to manipulate search engine rankings of sites, so that users are steered to web sites that install malicious code on your PC.

The FBI says people who want to send money or assistance should stick with organizations they're familiar with. They give these guidelines to follow if you're approached for donations.

1. Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.

2. Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.

3. Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a link to the site.

4. Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.

5. Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.

6. Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.