gofundme legitimate A Guide to Safe and Secure Giving

Gofundme is a popular platform for raising funds for various causes, but it's essential to ensure that your donations are safe and secure. According to GoFundMe's own statistics, they have successfully disbursed over $9 billion to date.

Be cautious of scams, as they can be convincing and may even use fake GoFundMe pages to trick donors. These scams can be created by anyone, regardless of their intentions.

To verify a GoFundMe page's legitimacy, check the organizer's profile and ensure it matches the person or organization claiming to be raising funds. This simple step can make a big difference in preventing scams.

If you're still unsure, contact GoFundMe's customer support team to report any suspicious activity.

Broaden your view: Gofundme a Scam

GoFundMe has protections in place to keep donations from falling into the wrong hands. The money goes to whatever person or cause is named, cutting down on people using others' tragedies or causes for personal gain.

GoFundMe staffers vet information about campaigns and reach out to proposed beneficiaries to secure a chain of command for the funds. They even encourage campaign organizers and beneficiaries to be transparent.

If you're unsure about a GoFundMe account, you can reach out to the campaign organizer or GoFundMe directly. They have a team of people to answer questions about donors.

Abuse of the system occurs in less than 1/10th of 1% of all campaigns, according to GoFundMe. However, all donations are protected by a guarantee which would issue a full refund in the event of "intentionally misleading" campaigns.

To verify a GoFundMe page's legitimacy, you can check if the image being used is readily available online. Do a reverse image search with Google to see if the image is being used elsewhere.

The GoFundMe Giving Guarantee protects your donation with a full refund in the rare case something isn’t right.

Consider reading: How Do I Refund a Donation on Gofundme

Protecting Yourself is crucial when using GoFundMe. Keep your information safe by never posting your email address, phone number, bank numbers, or any other sensitive details in your fundraiser story.

Scammers are always on the lookout for vulnerable targets, so it's essential to be cautious about what you share online. Posting sensitive details can put you at risk of identity theft, financial loss, and other forms of exploitation.

Your funds are secure on GoFundMe. We work closely with our payment partners to make sure all payment account details belong to the person, organization, or non-profit receiving the funds.

GoFundMe checks payment account details to protect your funds. This is similar to how banks verify account information.

If you're concerned about a campaign, do a reverse image search with Google. If the image is readily available online, be wary of a potential scam.

GoFundMe started a "GoFundMe Guarantee" last year, which will refund up to $1000 to a donor if a campaign is deemed fraudulent by GoFundMe.

To report a fundraiser, learn more about what makes GoFundMe the safest place to give.

Worth a look: Trump Campaign Gofundme Emergency Relief

GoFundMe scams can be sneaky, but there are ways to identify them. Look for minimal details on the page, as scammers often don't provide much information.

Lifehacker recommends contacting the organizer directly by clicking on the little green envelope and sending them a message. You can ask questions with specifics, and if the scammer doesn't reply or gives vague answers, it's likely a fake.

Scammers may also use images that are readily available online, so do a reverse image search with Google to see if the image is being used elsewhere. If it is, be wary.

In some cases, scammers may even use a fake campaign to raise money for a real tragedy, but without the family's knowledge or involvement. This happened with a college student who set up a campaign after seeing it on the news, raising nearly $91,000.

You can also look for red flags like the organizer having no ties to the family, or the campaign being established within 24 hours of the incident. In the case mentioned, at least 35 fake GoFundMe accounts were set up within 24 hours, none of which were authorized by the family.

It's also worth noting that even if a campaign seems legitimate, it's not always clear how the money will get to the intended recipient. In the case of the ASU student, it's unclear how he would have gotten the money to the family if it hadn't garnered so much publicity.

Check this out: How Do You Set up a Gofundme