Americans reported losing $470 million to text scams
In 2024, Americans reported losing $470 million in a scam that began through text messaging, according to new data from the Federal Trade Commission.
Scripps News
- A fraudulent GoFundMe account has been shut down, claiming it raised funds for one of the three fatal car accident victims of Concord-Carlisle High School.
- Over $5,700 was raised before GoFundMe officials removed fraudulent pages and refunded all donors.
- Concord Police are working with GoFundMe to track down the person in charge.
People who donated to a fraudulent GoFundMe account created to believe it was helping the family of one of the three Concord Carlisle high school students killed in a crash in Florida, told Metrowest Daily News.
The fundraiser in the name of 18-year-old Hannah Wasserman had raised more than $5,700 before it was removed, a GoFundMe spokesperson said in an email.
“After this tragedy, our hearts come into the community,” the spokesman wrote. “At Gofundme, it is our number one priority to be a safe and reliable place to provide and receive support and we continue to monitor the fundraising platform related to this incident.”
Wasserman, along with classmates Jimmy McIntosh and Maisie O’Donnell, was injured in injuries that fell on Highway 98 in the Florida Panhandle on Monday, April 21st. The fourth student was seriously injured.
A day later, a GoFundMe account was created entitled “Help to Cover Hannah Wasserman’s Funeral Costs” and asked for $10,000. GofundMe used the name of another Concord Carlisle student whose mother said she didn’t create a fundraiser.
“We noticed tonight that the next GoFundMe was posted under the name Rex in ‘support’ the Wasserman family after the tragedy,” Jayme Kennedy Riessen said in a Facebook post last month. “Rex didn’t start this fundraiser, and we didn’t know who did it, so we reported it.
Riessen did not respond to requests for comments submitted via Facebook Messenger.
Police call fake gofundme pages “snarky”
Concord Police Colonel Brian Goldman said police are investigating.
“I really hate trying to take advantage of people during their darkest times,” he said. “It was a fake account.”
Goldman said it’s not easy to find a fake Gofundme, especially due to the prevalence of people who start in the wake of fires, accidents and other tragedy.
“They’re posted all the time, and people go to the people they expect and take it at face value,” he said.
Goldman said Gofundme fundraisers should be scrutinized and watched, just like any other fundraiser. He suggested that people interested in donations should try to contact the subject of the fundraiser, or someone nearby, to confirm their credibility.
“These are tricky because in many cases, friends and family set things up,” Goldman said. “Don’t get it from one source. It’s always good to trust and check it. Check with the original source.”
A GoFundMe spokesperson said such cases were “very rare,” but if they happen, a full refund is guaranteed through the company’s “GoFundMe Provided Guarantee.”
In this example, the spokesman said that when the company was notified that the fundraiser could be fake, the company contacted the creator of the page. The money was not diversified and was held by the payment processor during the page review.
“Our trust and safety team did not receive a response to our outreach, so all donors were refunded and the fundraiser was removed,” the spokesman explained.
Investigators trying to track down scammers
Goldman said police investigators in Concord are working with GoFundMe to investigate the fake fundraiser. He said that bank information and other identification information would normally need to be shared with GoFundMe, so he is asking for that information to see if he can track the person in charge.
“After we get the records, we go to the hunting trails and track where the money goes,” he said.
The fatal crash remains under investigation, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Norman Miller can be contacted at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For the latest public safety news, follow him at x @norman_millermw or facebook.com/normanmillercrime.