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Comment by Kaveren | Hacker News Reader

Makes me wonder how many of these campaigns are fraudulent. You know, in cases when you don't have someone so stupid that they bring legal action against a co-conspirator because they got screwed over while committing theft by deception.

If I were a betting man I'd guess there's a small number of people running large scams on the site to net 5 or 6 figures in profit a year. Unlike donating to a charity where you have ample resources to research the organization you're donating to, you sadly can't get that donating to crowdfunding campaigns.

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We don’t allow gofundme/crowdfunding links on r/CrohnsDisease because we’ve had scammers just like that in the past and we don’t have the resources to investigate each campaign. It sucks because some of our users really could use the assistance.

I really hate the entire culture around Gofundme. I feel like a number of people use it in a way I find horrifying.

My grandfather passed away a few years ago and my much younger relative in college in Hawaii decided to make a gofundme page to raise money for the plane ticket to his funeral. I could have paid for his ticket no problem, but I got the feeling the gofundme wasn't really about the money. It somehow was just "what you do" for a bit of attention.

Call me old fashioned but I don't really like the way it looks when my family members are begging all over facebook for something the family could easily take care of. It also feels weirdly exploitive of people who are bad with money management. His parents are solid middle class, but I personally know one of the people donating $100 to his gofundme was a fifty-something year old waitresses with a heart of gold and no sense of budgeting.

When the big, fatal limousine crash happened in New York a few weeks back, it seemed like there were GoFundMes being shared around Facebook before any details of the accident were released. I saw at least 6 different campaigns being shared at the same time the news outlets were beginning coverage.

It looks like now GFM has created a special page for the "event", and over half a million has been donated.

I can't even put into words why this makes me uncomfortable, but something about it feels skeevy. It's difficult to have a rational conversation about it without detracting from the tragedy itself.

I think part of it has to do with how gofundme started... early on, they made it look and feel like people were essentially donating to a charity. They hid their fees deep in the FAQ and allowed the general population to assume that donations on gofundme were the equivalent of donating to something like the Make A Wish Foundation. It was a toxic company from the very start.

I think Go Fund Me probably has less outright scams because the whole point is that you are asking for money and giving nothing in return.

Compare to Kickstarter where many people try to sell ideas and products that they have no intention or ability to bring to fruition.

> I think Go Fund Me probably has less outright scams because the whole point is that you are asking for money and giving nothing in return.

Scams offering emotional/spiritual rewards rather than concrete material benefits are common precisely because those duped noticing and having remedy for the deception is far less likely unless someone involved gives the game up.

If I ask $10,000 and offer you a car in return, you’ll notice not getting a car.

If I ask $10,000 and offer to relieve the (fictional) plight of a stranger, you're a lot less likely to notice you've been played.

I think gofundme would have more scams in that case, since they would be MUCH harder to detect since nothing is promised to 'donors' in return. On kickstarter, you at least have to pretend for a while that you're making progress, and failing to deliver anything at the end makes it even harder for you to do it all over again.

Indeed. While I'm sure there are genuine cases of need that deserve our sympathy (and maybe even our money), the total lack of verification and accountability makes me really wary. AFAICS, all it takes to collect thousands from random strangers is the ability to present a heart-wrenching story. The entire setup is such that facts are entirely optional.

On Kickstarter, I'd expect more accountability given that people will either receive their rewards or not receive them. This is quite a bit easier to measure than funds going into a pot to "help" someone.

My point: I think it's easier to identify outright scams on Kickstarter than on GoFundMe. I don't necessarily know what site is more vulnerable to scams.

I think there is a meme running around: "You can now subsidize your cost of healthcare in the United States by starting a GoFundMe every time you visit the doctor."

But seriously, I agree with you. I'd guess there are groups creating crowdfunding campaigns on hot-button topics AND soliciting donations from both sides (pro-gun/anti-gun, red/blue), and like this case, most of the money falls off somewhere along the line to pay "consultants" and "meals/fundraising activities."

Not the mention the small-time scammers running campaigns for their not-so-sick child or cancer scare.

Pigs get slaughtered and greed is their downfall.

Hey, we raised $400K, tax free (donations,) how about we split it in half and shut the f-up? Unless an insider mouths off, who would even find out? But then you have an outsider (homeless guy,) the couple could get divorced and spill the beans etc.

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