LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- People in Florida, North Carolina and Georgia are struggling to recover from damages of Hurricane Helene, so people are trying to lend a helping hand.

More than 200 people have died. It’s the worst storm to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005, and scientists have warned such storms will only worsen in the face of climate change.

But as people try to pick up others from the horrendous devastation, scammers are taking advantage of the storm. A-I generated photos have been circulating on social media as accounts ask for donations.

Oftentimes, scammers pull at people's heart strings to get donations.

Louisville resident TJ Hensley has seen images like this before.

"That's a good illustration of where my worries in particular come from," said TJ Hensley. "I'm sure there are a million stories out there of folks unfortunately falling for scams like that."

But there are ways people can tell a viral photo has been altered or created with artificial intelligence.

"I'm good at figuring it out, but other people aren't, " said AJ Smith.

Misleading images are revealed in the minor details. Sometimes a person can have a missing finger or unlikely body proportions. Other times, images' colors don't look natural.

"Some things look too perfect,' Smith said.

Another popular trick is scammers are using real storm images, but the photos aren't images from Hurricane Helene. The photos are taken years ago from different hurricanes.

"It's pretty scary," Smith said. "I think it's really obvious that they're fake. But sitting congressmen saw them and were like 'Oh my God, that's so horrible.' So definitely a bad thing."

Reanna Smith-Hamblin, President and CEO of the BBB of Kentucky and southern Indiana, visited WDRB Mornings on Wednesday and said people need to do their homework, so they don't get scammed.

The BBB published tips to consider before making a digital donation, which include:

  • Did you vet the post?
  • Can you verify the charity is trustworthy?
  • Should you send clothing or food instead?

"I try to take everything with a grain of salt on social media anyway, and I feel that most folks do, regardless of how familiar they are with social media," Hensley said.

BBB approves The American Red Cross, Global Giving and Feeding America.

If you are skeptical on if a website is real or not, click here and you can check.

Related Stories:

Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. . The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.