Monday, October 26, 2015. BMG: Belize’s branch of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that award letters and emails said to be coming from their branch in Barcelona, Spain, and Orchard Hills Security Company suggesting that the recipient has won an award and must provide sensitive personal information to collect it are false and those who receive them should not provide the requested information.
The organization is headquartered in New York City (though does have a relationship with the famous Barcelona FC football club based in that city) and does not do any fundraising from private individuals here.
A release from UNICEF states: “UNICEF staff travels around the country to meet with communities, conduct surveys and work with partner organisations, but UNICEF Belize does under no circumstances ask private individuals for donations in person. If you are approached by somebody who claims to be representing UNICEF and you have any doubts or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the UNICEF Belize office.
For more information on how to protect yourself against fraud and to know more about the work of UNICEF, you can visit the UNICEF Belize Facebook page. www.facebook.com/UNICEFBelize.”