GoFundMe

Burlington mother defrauded by fake GoFundMe campaign using 16-year-old photo

A fraudulent GoFundMe campaign used an old photo of a Burlington, Ontario mother and her six children to solicit donations for a fake fundraiser related to the Texas floods. The photo was taken from a blog post the mother had written 16 years ago. The fake fundraiser claimed to support a widowed mother of six affected by the floods and aimed to raise $40,000. The GoFundMe campaign was removed after the mother contacted the company, and it reportedly did not receive any donations. The account associated with the fundraiser was banned from creating future campaigns on the platform. The mother shared the incident publicly to raise awareness about the misuse of personal photos and the importance of being cautious with online fundraising.