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Go Fund Me or Go Fraud Me?

March 16, 2022

Sites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter are fund-raising sites that became popular in the last decade. They were created to give individuals a platform to raise money for practically anything (events, bills, expenses to create a new product, to buy a new TV). The platforms give a space to request funding and to gift funds to anyone you would like to.

According to the GoFundMe Giving Report: In 2021 GoFundMe raised $15 Million in donations and have raised $15 Billion since it’s conception in 2010. The single most generous fundraiser in 2021, according to the GoFundMe website, was for a family in the United Kingdom that raised $100,000 in one day. It is a great space to help those in need, but how do some people get trapped by scams when it is completely voluntary to donate or not? Scammers pull at your heart strings by requesting donations for things based on:

  • Sympathy
  • Good Cause/Good Deed
  • Pay It Forward
  • Common Need/Want

But there is good in the world there will always be bad seeds. The United States Attorney’s Office – District of New Jersey [1] reported that in 2017 a New Jersey residents (Mark D’Amico and Katelyn McClure) created a GoFundMe for a homeless man named Johnny Bobbitt Jr. The couple set a goal on the site to raise $10,000 but they received more than $400,000 from more than 14,000 donors for their “Pay It Forward” fundraiser in less than 3 weeks. The story about how D’Amico and McClure wanted to help get the homeless man off the streets turned out to be a scam. D’Amico and McClure spent the money on “gambling, vacations, a BMW automobile, clothing, expensive handbags and other personal items and expenses” [1]. On December 21, 2021, Hulu released a documentary on the story titled “No Good Deed”. While we love reading and watching about the drama that unfolded how do we make sure we do not fall victim to these types of scams when we are looking to donate on these sites?

  • Know who you are donating to. If you do not know the person personally then do your research. Look for a social media presence, pictures, videos, connections to the person they are requesting funds to be donated to.
  • Is the amount they have set a “goal” for reasonable to what they are stating they will be using it for?
  • Are there any duplicate requests for the same event, topic, cause already posted? Make sure you are donating to the original campaign and not a duplicate created to filter funds to a different recipient.
  • Read the comments and see if there are any from close family/friends that support the cause. Lack of comments could be a red flag.

If you suspect a fraudulent fundraiser or have donated and suspect, you have been scammed you should report the fundraiser to the website. You may also want to check with your financial institution about what steps you can take to ensure they cannot request or access any more from the payment source you used when donating.

[1] The United States Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey

Wednesday, March 6, 2019 Press Release

“Bordentown, New Jersey, Woman and Philadelphia Man Admit

Roles In Scheme to Launder Money, Defraud Internet Donors” 

Court Case Indictment:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/press-release/file/1450586/download

 

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