By John Breyault, NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud

It seems almost unimaginable that someone would try to take advantage of the Newtown school shooting to defraud consumers. Unfortunately, in this tragedy as with others, scam artists are all too willing to stoop to a new low.  According to a report from Jeff Rossen and Avni Patel of NBC’s “Today” show, a scam artist in the Bronx posed as the aunt of Newtown victim Noah Pozner in a ploy to collect donations for a fictitious charity fund. While the scammer in this case was later arrested, the high-profile of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy is sure to generate other charity scams.

Unfortunately, such scams have become a predictable part of most major natural disasters or other tragedies. They cropped up in 2004 after the Indonesian tsunami, in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, in 2010 after the Haiti earthquake, and earlier this year after the Aurora theater shooting, to name but a few. In each case, unscrupulous con artists took advantage of the natural inclination of good Samaritans to help others in times of need. Charity scammers are adept at setting up fake Web sites, sending out telephone solicitations, and using email and direct mail to try and create a sense of trust with their victims. Rarely does any money donated to these outfits make its way to the intended charitable causes.

Charity scams are doubly damaging, since they not only cost victims money, but they also deprive legitimate charities of badly needed contributions. Consumers who are approached to donate money to a charity should be sure to check out the charity ahead of time before giving. Web sites like Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance are good places to start when researching a charitable organization.

Unfortunately, these aren’t foolproof ways to protect oneself from charity scams. Scammers often pose as legitimate charities such as the Red Cross or UNICEF, even going so far as to set up Web sites or Facebook pages that look like the real organization’s sites. They may include the logos of respected organizations in emails or other solicitations to make themselves seem more legitimate. If you receive a solicitation to support a particular charitable organization, even one you may have heard of before, it’s usually a good idea to contact the charity directly (either via the Web or a listed telephone number for the group) and make your donation that way.

A good rule of thumb to remember is that major news events, especially ones with victims that tug at our heartstrings, are sure to bring out scammers. While it’s right to want to support others in their time of need, make sure and donate smartly to avoid becoming a victim of a charity scam. For more information on spotting and avoiding charity scams, click here.

By Reid Maki, Director of Social Responsibility and Fair Labor Standards

With the holidays upon us, many American look forward to trimming their Christmas tree and spending time with their loved ones, especially their children. For many kids, Christmas invokes the happiest of memories, but not all kids are so lucky.

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is now the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, noted earlier this month that many children in India are virtually enslaved in sweatshops that manufacture Christmas ornaments. Check out what Brown had to say in this video and learn about the “nightmare” suffered by Indian children who make ornaments for consumers in the U.S. and other countries in the Western hemisphere.

In the video, Brown talks about a rescue raid by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) which freed 14 of the child laborers—some as young as eight—from a sweatshop in Delhi. BBA, like the Child Labor Coalition is a member of the Global March Against Child Labor, an international umbrella group that works to reduce the worst forms of child labor.

“Children are being asked to work 17, 18, 19 hours a day,” said Brown. “They are being asked to work in unsanitary conditions. They are being asked to work without sunlight. Some of them are lacerated because they are working with glass. We found these children in this basement, they were not being paid, they had been trafficked…” Several children had been beaten by their crew leaders. The rescuers actually found 12 of the children imprisoned in a locked 6-foot by 6-foot cell.

The children are now free, but many children around the world are not so fortunate. Brown notes that there are tens of thousands of sweatshops around the world, where grossly underpaid workers, including many children, produce goods for us.

“The people I know in America who do not want to celebrate Christmas on the backs of the exploitation of these young children would be appalled if they knew that these decorations and trinkets and gifts and presents were coming because children had been violently kept prisoner to make these goods.” The UNESCO Institute for Statistics notes that 61 million children around the world of primary age do not attend school—often because they work instead. “That’s an unacceptable thing for 2012,” said Brown.

India is currently considering a ban on all child labor for workers under 18. However, even if the ban passes, enforcement of the law would provide enormous challenges.

In its annual report this year, the U.S. Department of Labor found that 134 goods are still produced by forced labor and child labor in 74 countries. In India, children help produce more than 20 different goods ranging from bricks to carpets to leather goods and often do so under the harshest conditions.

As you put up and take down your Christmas tree and put the bulbs away, think for a moment about the small child who might have made those decorations, who might have been beaten because he or she did not work hard enough; who may have cut his or her hand on the glass of broken bulbs; or who dreams of the school that he or she is not allowed to attend.

When we buy products at ridiculously low prices, there is often a reason for those low prices. The real cost—as Gordon Brown notes—may be the freedom and the safety of children.

Read Brown’s excellent Huffington Post column about the raid here and check out what other products we use that may be manufactured by child labor and forced labor.

Consumers who wish to support the Child Labor Coalition’s and the National Consumers League’s efforts to educate the public about child labor issues may make a donation here.