Familiarizing yourself with the policies can help you submit a stronger report. If you can point to a specific policy issued by GoFundMe that the campaign violated, GoFundMe will be more likely to take action.
Gathering information may require you to go beyond the campaign page itself. For example, you may have found out through checking the organizer’s Facebook page that they live in a different state than the beneficiary and are not related to them in any way. Keep your information factual instead of speculative, opinionated, or personal. A campaign isn’t fraudulent, for example, just because you’ve had a disagreement with the organizer or know them personally and believe they aren’t trustworthy.
You can report a fraudulent campaign to GoFundMe by visiting https://www. gofundme. com/mvc. php?route=contact/form&pid=2991_When_should_I_report_a_campaign.
GoFundMe will not provide your name or information to the campaign organizer to protect your privacy. However, if their investigation reveals criminally fraudulent activity, they may have to share your information with law enforcement for follow-up.
Avoid speculation or opinion. If you received information from someone else, at a minimum you should include their name and their relationship to the campaign organizer. If you made any attempts to contact the campaign organizer, include a summary of those attempts and any response you received. Let GoFundMe know if you or anyone close to you has donated to the campaign, and what amount.
You can always monitor the campaign page itself to see if donations are closed or if the page is taken down. You may be contacted by law enforcement if the GoFundMe investigation reveals evidence of a crime.
Generally, you should be able to show that the organizer intentionally misrepresented the facts in some way, and that they did so to try to take advantage of people’s generosity and charitable spirit. If you have evidence that the person never in fact used the funds they raised for their stated purpose, that can be helpful too. Start by taking screen captures of the campaign page itself and any other websites where you found information, such as the organizer’s website or other campaigns the organizer opened on other crowdfunding platforms. Make copies of any other information you have, such as email or other communication with the campaign organizer.
Even if the organizer is located far away, local police may get involved if the campaign purports to benefit local victims, or if significant numbers of people locally have donated to the campaign. If you file a police report, make sure you get a copy of the written report and keep it for your records. It may be helpful when filing complaints with other law enforcement agencies, and can help them coordinate their efforts.
To start your complaint, visit the FTC Complaint Assistant at https://www. ftccomplaintassistant. gov/#crnt&panel1-9. On the menu that says “Select a category below,” choose “Other. " Then click on “Charitable Solicitations. " Provide as much information as you have on each of the complaint pages. You do not have to provide your personal information to file a complaint with the FTC. However, providing contact information can help them in the event they want to follow up with you to get more information.
If the campaign is still ongoing, you may not be in the position to file a complaint with the IC3 unless the funds have already been collected and withdrawn. To start an IC3 complaint, visit https://www. ic3. gov/default. aspx and click the red button.
For example, suppose there was a tragic shooting in your town. You later see a GoFundMe campaign for the victims, but the organizer has no ties to the victims and has not contacted any of the victims’ families. Your state’s attorney general might be interested in investigating that matter. You can find contact information for your state’s attorney general at http://www. naag. org/naag/attorneys-general/whos-my-ag. php.
For example, suppose your neighborhood was hit hard by a tornado. You later see a GoFundMe campaign organized by an individual with no ties to your neighborhood who lives in another state. There is no evidence that the money this person is raising will ever reach your neighborhood, and they haven’t contacted any person or organization providing relief in your neighborhood. Call the National Center for Disaster Fraud for assistance.
Typically a legitimate organizer will explain how the money raised will be distributed to the beneficiaries. If they claim to be working with a local person or organization, you can easily contact that person or organization to see if they know anything about the campaign. If the person lives far away from the beneficiaries of the fund, and there is no mention on the campaign page of the person’s connection to those beneficiaries or how they plan to get the money to them, that’s a red flag.
When a legitimate campaign starts, the first donors and comments typically will be people very close to the people or issue the campaign is intended to benefit. If all of those donors seem to be random or have no connection to the beneficiaries, that may be a red flag.
However, if you’re suspicious you can do a search online for the organizer’s name and see what you uncover. It may not necessarily be evidence of fraud, but if the person seems shady, the campaign may not be legit. For example, the person may have a link on the campaign page to their Facebook. When you click on it, you notice very few personal comments or connections. The whole page seems to be nothing but advertisements to donate to the campaign, and it was only created a few weeks before the campaign started. That could be a red flag.
Beyond overstating the facts, it may also be that the campaign organizer is flat-out lying about the reason they’re seeking donations. For example, they may claim to be raising money for someone who was recently diagnosed with cancer, when in fact that person is completely healthy.
Evaluate any other campaigns you see the same way you did the original one. Figure out who’s donating to them, and who’s connected to the organizer.
Be careful about taking on an accusatory tone. Keep your communication polite and cordial. Copy or screen-cap your message before you send it so you have a record of the exchange. If you don’t receive a reply from the organizer within a few days, check the activity on the page. If they’ve been active since you sent your message, that means they’ve seen it and have chosen not to respond. In that case, you may want to either send a more stern follow-up message or go ahead and escalate your complaint to GoFundMe directly.
