Hours after a gunman sneaked onto the campus of Michigan State University last month, killing three students and injuring five more, a fundraiser on behalf of the victims began to spread. Not all of the initiatives were legal, the university later told Michigan’s attorney general’s office.

Experts say it’s part of a disturbing pattern that has been repeated over and over again in the United States: where mass shootings occur, scams often follow.

“Scammers strike when the iron is hot, so when an emotional moment comes — a disaster, a terrible shooting, an earthquake — they will see it as an opportunity to siphon hard-earned dollars for their own purposes. ,” said Bennett Weiner, COO of the Wise Giving Alliance Better Business Bureau.

In Michigan, in East Lansing, Michigan, an official Campaign to sell university-licensed clothing, the proceeds of which went to cover the hospital bills of injured students, was spoofed by scammers selling their own unlicensed gear, the university said.

“The licensing of MSU has recorded a surge in fraudulent activities using unlicensed Spartan Strong products,” said Dan Olsen, a spokesman for the university, referring to the official fundraising campaign named after the institution’s mascot.

Suspicious campaigns have also appeared on GoFundMe, a fundraising platform that has become a central part of charitable donations in the wake of natural disasters and tragedies.

sound the alarm

As with other mass casualty events, GoFundMe appointed a “crisis team” to determine if the campaigns were indeed linked to the families of the victims, suspending some of them where there was no clear channel to funnel the money to the people they were allegedly collecting for. said Li Lehman, a spokeswoman.

“We really know that it’s about supporting families at times like these, and we want them to know that this is a safe place to give and receive help,” Ms Leman said.

She added that GoFundMe’s verification process is similar to a bank’s, so users whose ID documents are not verified cannot create fundraising pages.

Following the recent mass shootings in Texas, California, New York and Michigan, the Attorney General’s Offices in each of those states issued a consumer warning warning against giving cash to fraudulent fundraisers.

In Michigan, Attorney General Dana Nessel issued an unusually personal plea for citizens to exercise discretion before donating.

“As the mother of two current Spartans, I am encouraged by the support that the people of Michigan have shown in the wake of this tragedy,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, attackers often take advantage of times when people are most vulnerable to take advantage of our generosity.”

“Waiting for the next tragedy”

The shooting in Michigan is far from the first tragedy to be exploited.

“Some scammers are experts who make a full-time job waiting for the next tragedy to strike again with fake profiles, stories and fundraising campaigns,” said Lori Styron, executive director of non-profit group CharityWatch.

Detecting fraud can be difficult because, unlike registered charities, crowdfunding campaigns are not subject to public disclosure rules. Charities that have the tax status of non-profit organizations should be more transparent through regular financial reporting.

Following the shooting at the Las Vegas Country Music Festival in October 2017, which killed 60 people and injured hundreds, the Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer bulletin warning of “suspicious donation requests.”

“Tugging at your innermost feelings is a proven method that scammers use to get at your wallet,” Emma Fletcher, a consumer education specialist at the FTC, said in the newsletter.

The FTC did not respond to requests for information about whether there were confirmed cases of fraud following the Las Vegas shooting.

Olivia King was killed in a mass shooting at a Kroger supermarket in Collierville, Tennessee in September 2021. A few days later, her son Wes King, an assistant professor of music teaching at Findlay University in Ohio, learned that the two had organized fundraisers ostensibly on behalf of his family without his family’s consent.

“We’re not only dealing with the sudden loss of our mother, this huge tragedy in our hometown, now these people are trying to cash in on someone’s worst day of their lives,” Mr. King said in an interview.

Ms Lehman, a spokeswoman for GoFundMe, said the scam page created under Ms King’s name has been taken down and that the funds have been returned to donors.

“You have people who are trying to capitalize on people’s shock, their grief, people’s anger and trying to get them to give them money – that’s disgusting,” Mr. King said. “I wish I could say it was amazing.

Real campaigns breed fraudulent ones

After Cannon Hinnant, a 5-year-old boy from North Carolina, was fatally shot by a neighbor while riding a bike in August 2020, his grandmother started a GoFundMe campaign to cover the cost of his funeral. The campaign, which raised far more than its $5,000 goal, has spawned dozens of fake campaigns on the platform created by people seeking to exploit the loss of a family.

After 14 students and three teachers were killed at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in February 2018, The Broward County Sheriff’s Office tweeted about this. that several fake GoFundMe pages were set up to profit from the shooting.

In 2012, a woman was arrested on charges of posing as a relative of the victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in order to collect donations to enrich herself. The woman, Nuelle Alba, pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and perjury and was sentenced to eight months in prison, according to the Associated Press.

Mr. Weiner of the Better Business Bureau said the Wise Giving Alliance encourages people to donate to prominent charities and community organizations, but added that the appeal of online crowdfunding is clear. Since its debut in 2010, GoFundMe has raised more than $25 billion by offering a way to donate money directly to an individual or family, rather than to an organization or cause, according to Ms. Lehman.

“There is a certain psychological feeling that you immediately helped the person who was helped directly by me,” Mr. Weiner said. “Touching the button and the feeling that I immediately made a difference. This feeling encourages people to get involved.”

Content Source