While times of adversity can bring out the best in people, generous residents are also warned to beware of scams.
Tania Burstin, a founder of one of Australia’s leading crowdfunding platform mycause.com.au issued the warning, following reported cases of people falsely raising funds from the outbreak of Coronavirus.
“Since the outbreak of the virus and with jobs and livelihoods being cut, we’re seeing a huge influx of people to mycause who are asking their friends, family and community for support” says Ms Burstin.
“Ninety nine per cent of the time, these requests for help are genuine but that doesn’t mean platforms like ours can become complacent.”
She said there are simple ways that people and charities can perform verification checks to ensure their safety.
“It’s a common myth that creating a fundraising page you will receive random donations from strangers. It never happens.
“For fundraisers, make sure you know who is donating to you. If you don’t know them, report them.”
“Don’t donate to anyone you don’t know.”
She urged the community to report any suspicious crowdfunding to the appropriate platform or Consumer Affairs.
