Hackers target charity websites
Updated on 08 December 2005
A charity whose computer was hacked into by fraudsters has gone public as a warning to others about the scale of internet crime.
Online donors have been targeted by charity hackers.
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The 'Aid to the Church in Need UK' charity raises money for oppressed Christian communties around the world.
It says hackers gained access to its database - stealing its identity and getting access to the accounts of thousands of online donors.
The charity's organisers say they've spoken out to highlight what they claim is the in-built insecurity of on-line payments.
Aid to the Church in Need fears its 10,000 projects in 144 countries will be hit hard by the internet fraud.
The charity says it "provides pastoral relief to needy and oppressed churches and will help Catholics prevented from living according to their faith wherever they are persecuted."
Over 600,000 people across the world donate to ACN which is funded solely by contributions and purchases with a growing number using the internet. The UK base thought their site was secure but hackers managed to infiltrate their systems and steal confidential information about donors.
Nina DeVoil has donated and made purchases via the website. She's an unlikely target as she teaches computing and knows what to look out for on the internet. After receiving notification from the charity she checked her credit card transactions and discovered that nearly £900 had been stolen.
Increasingly people are being asked to donate to charities online as it's a faster option which incurs lower processing costs.
During the tsunami, £372m was given by people in Britain to the Disaster's Emergency Committee, 4£4m of which was donated online.
This website was also targetted by criminals as were the official sites for Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 and more recently the Pakistan earthquake.
