(In light of the recent earthquake in Haiti, the Better Business Bureau issued this advice Jan. 13 when contributing to humanitarian charities and organizations that are soliciting donations to "send help" or "aid in relief efforts.")

As immediate relief needs are assessed in the wake of the Haiti earthquake Jan. 12, many Americans seeking charities in which to donate disaster aid funds.

The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance warns that - as occurred following the tsunami in 2004 and Katrina in 2005 - fraudulent charities will likely emerge to scam donations from well-meaning Americans.

"Whenever there is a major natural disaster, be it home or abroad, there are two things you can count on. The first is the generosity of Americans to donate time and money to help victims, and the second is the appearance of poorly run and in some cases fraudulent charities," said Kelvin Collins, the president and CEO of the BBB of central Georgia and the Central Savannah River Area.

"Not only do Americans need to be concerned about avoiding fraud, they also need to make sure their money goes to competent relief organizations that are equipped and experienced to handle the unique challenges of providing assistance," Collins said.

The BBB has tips to help Americans decide where to direct donations:

Rely on expert opinion when it comes to evaluating a charity.

Be cautious when relying on third-party recommendations such as bloggers or other Web sites, as they might not have fully researched the listed relief organizations. The public can go to www.bbb.org/charity and research organizations to verify that they are accredited by the BBB and meet the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Be wary of claims that 100 percent of donations will assist relief victims.

Despite what an organization might claim, charities have fund-raising and administrative costs. Even a credit card donation will involve, at a minimum, a processing fee. If a charity claims that 100 percent of collections will assist earthquake victims, the truth is the organization is still probably incurring administrative expenses. They may use some of their other funds to pay this, but the expenses will still be incurred.

Be cautious about online giving, especially in response to spam and e-mails that claim links to a relief organization. In response to the tsunami disaster in 2004, there were concerns raised about many Web sites and new organizations created overnight allegedly to help victims.

Find out if the charity has an on-the-ground presence in the impacted areas.

Unless the charity already has staff in the effected areas, it may be difficult to get new aid workers to quickly provide assistance. See if the charity's Web site clearly describes what they can do to address immediate needs.

Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups.

Some charities may raise money to pass along to relief organizations. If so, potential contributors might consider "avoiding the middleman" and giving directly.

In-kind drives for food, clothing or other materials -while well intentioned - is not necessarily the quickest way to help people unless the organization has the resources to distribute and deliver such aid. Ask them about this.

Be wary of those who are not experienced in disaster relief assistance.

(Red Cross always needs money donations. Donations often can be designated toward a specific need, like "Haitian earthquake relief." Already the American Red Cross has pledge $1 million in relief for Haiti, according to its Web site, www.redcross.org.)