Go Fund Me Indeed

[LoveNDino]

NOV. 16, 2018

Is Everything on the Internet a Scam Now?

By Madison Malone Kircher

Two of the three scammers who were arrested following a fraudulent GoFundMe campaign. Photo: GoFundMe

 

The internet: where you can meet new people, make new friends, learn new skills, and help new people! And also, get fleeced. The saga of a couple from New Jersey who raised over $400,000 to help a homeless man and then reportedly withheld the money from him has reached its bitter end, and it turns out everybody involved is a scammer. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning so you can fully enjoy the drama. Because there is a whole lot of it.

 

Back in 2017, Kate McClure and her boyfriend Mark D’Amico told a heartwarming story about a homeless man, Johnny Bobbitt, offering her his last $20 when she ran out of gas one night. Nice, right? Right. That’s what everybody thought when they read it on a GoFundMe campaign the couple started, promising to use the money to help Bobbitt secure housing and set up a trust in his name. Cue $402,000 in donations from people moved by Bobbitt’s kindness.

 

Bobbitt got a lawyer and started claiming he’d never received the money the couple raised. He did get some of it, about $75,000, which included a camper and a 1999 Ford Ranger. (Neither were registered in his name and Bobbitt lived in the camper on the couple’s property until they kicked him off in June.) Bobbitt said the pair spent the rest of the money on vacations and a new BMW. At this point, the cops raided the couple’s house and they, via their lawyer, said that the money was gone. GoFundMe donated $20,000 to Bobbitt to help cover legal expenses.

 

But what Bobbitt didn’t mention, and what the trio might have gotten away with if he’d never complained, was that the whole thing was a setup from the start. The fated $20 encounter never happened at all. The three met, according to new reports, on a freeway ramp in Philadelphia near a casino McClure and D’Amico frequented. Which was where they, collectively, formulated the plan to stage the gas-money run-in and raise donations in Bobbitt’s name, NBC reports. On Thursday, all three were charged with second-degree theft by deception and conspiracy to commit theft — crimes for which they were investigated only after Bobbitt lawyered up in September.

 

While McClure, D’Amico, and Bobbitt face consequences, GoFundMe is left holding the bag. The platform said it will be repaying everybody who donated to the original campaign, and said fraudulent campaigns

make up less than one tenth of one percent of all campaigns.” Which, okay, sure.

 

But that fraction, and the headlines that come with fraudulent campaigns, should be enough to make you wary of donating. There’s the woman in Nevada who faked her son’s death to raise money. The New York couple who pretended their child had cancer. The New Jersey man who raised $14,000 for “emergency surgery” for his puppy who was later arrested for animal cruelty. The internet, if you zoom out, is so good at connecting people — of getting information in front of people who would have never otherwise heard about that “sick” puppy or that kid with “cancer.” That part works great. The part that doesn’t work so great is that there isn’t always a mechanism for checking that information is valid. (Ahem, 2016 election Facebook fiasco!) Meaning platforms like GoFundMe have to be on the defensive from the get-go to ward of intentionally bad actors. And that — again, ahem, Facebook — gets tricky.

 

GoFundMe is probably right when they remind people that the vast majority of campaigns aren’t like this. But there’s also a whole cottage industry out there where people hunt down bogus crowdfunding campaigns, which might indicate the problem is more significant than GoFundMe would like to admit. Mostly because that’s bad for future donations. Which is bad for GoFundMe’s business.

[BabyBoomer]

https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/bobbitt-was-upset-he-didnt-get-his-cut.144275/#post-165506

 

~Boomer~

[+ augustus]

Charity starts at home. Donate locally. There are plenty of people in legitimate need within walking distance. GoFundMe is a scam. Speaking of scams,

Dr.Christine Blasey Ford's go fund me sits at $950,000 for travel expenses. Will they be refunding those taken advantage of?

 

Admin Note: Let’s keep Dr Ford & Politics out of this discussion.

Edited November 19, 2018 by Cooper

[marylander1940]

Charity starts at home. Donate locally. There are plenty of people in legitimate need within walking distance. GoFundMe is a scam. Speaking of scams,

Dr.Christine Blasey Ford's go fund me sits at $950,000 for travel expenses. Will they be refunding those taken advantage of?

 

You just can’t help yourself?

[thickornotatall]

We always donate to our local No Kill Animal Shelter...I personally don't need anything...I love our dogs very much and want all dogs to find forever homes..until they do we give to their less fortunate friends...I always want just one more..but know my limit.

[+ E.T.Bass]

Two separate gay content Kickstarter campaigns I've supported with cool perks like T Shirts, a set visit, and a DVD of behind the scenes activity never provided the perks. These peeps are ruining the concept of crowdfunding by not following through.

[+ PapaTony]

You just can’t help yourself?

and yet you pumped oxygen his way instead of ignoring

[Guest]

There are plenty of legitimate charities to help the homeless or those with medical needs, etc. GoFundMe is a magnet for scammers. Give to bona fide charities (and looks them up on charitynavigator.org). That way you know your money will truly be going to those in need. And you get to deduct it as a charitable deduction, too.

Edited November 22, 2018 by Unicorn

[+ pitman]

There are plenty of legitimate charities to help the homeless or those with medical needs, etc. GoFundMe is a magnet for scammers. Give to bona fide charities (and looks them up on charitynavigator.org). That way you know you money will truly be going to those in need. And you get to deduct it as a charitable deduction, too.

A friend of mine is dealing a number of serious health issues and is in need of financial assistance. A GoFundMe campaign was created for him by another friend of his who I also know and trust. I would not give to a fund for someone I do not know.

[+ nycman]

I never liked it. It’s just public begging.

 

There are better ways to help people.

[rvwnsd]

Two separate gay content Kickstarter campaigns I've supported with cool perks like T Shirts, a set visit, and a DVD of behind the scenes activity never provided the perks. These peeps are ruining the concept of crowdfunding by not following through.

A group in San Diego was running a Go Fund Me Kickstarter campaign to create a public market like the one in Seattle. Unlike in Seattle, it was way off the beaten path, would only have been open on certain days of the week, and was essentially a farmers' market under a roof. Oh, and the organizers berated anyone who asked questions about their business plan and how they would sustain themselves given there is a farmers' market somewhere in San Diego every day of the week. They also didn't ask the primarily Latino neighborhood in which it would have been located whether they wanted the market in their neighborhood nor did they plan to have any neighborhood businesses locate in the market.

 

They raised their goal, but the market never materialized as it was designed. Basically, it was a coffee shop and I think a restaurant. Glad I didn't jump on THAT bandwagon.

 

EDIT: It was a Kickstarter campaign, not GoFundMe.

[+ E.T.Bass]

A fool and his money.....

I know, that sounded harsh.

 

Live and learn might work better.

[Guest]

A friend of mine is dealing a number of serious health issues and is in need of financial assistance. A GoFundMe campaign was created for him by another friend of his who I also know and trust. I would not give to a fund for someone I do not know.

I have been known to help a good friend in need (personally, not through GoFundMe). However, most of the people on GoFundMe seem to get into trouble because they chose not to buy appropriate insurance. I live in a more modest place and live a relatively more modest lifestyle because I budget in the insurances I need: health, fire, earthquake, disability, long-term care, auto, umbrella, and so on. I don't feel any duty to subsidize those who've chosen to avoid buying insurance.

Edited November 23, 2018 by Unicorn