GoFu**Me

The GoFundMe website was founded in 2010. Like other crowdfunding sites it enables ordinary people to contribute to worthy causes, including individuals in need. Sadly, wherever money is mentioned, people will be found to prove that slice of Biblical wisdom that love of money is the root of all evil.

One of the sickest scams played on GoFundMe patrons happened in 2018 when a dude in New Jersey and his girlfriend came up with the bright idea of faking a feelgood story of a homeless man giving the lady his last twenty dollars when she ran out of gas. They started a GoFundMe for him and the response of the American public was incredible; they donated a staggering $400+ to take this guy off the street.

The homeless man was real, but nothing else about this story was.  He ended up with five years of probation; Kate McClure agreed a plea that would see her serving four years. Mark D’Amico has yet to be sentenced, but as the homeless dude and his (former!) girlfriend both agreed to testify against him, he can expect some heavy prison time.

Should that and similar one-off frauds discourage you from donating to GoFundMe appeals? No, but what happened this month with the Canadian trucker appeal should put you off anything to do with this particular crowdfunder.

The seizure of the Freedom Convoy fund, said to total around $9 million is so outrageous that it has resulted in a mega-backlash. And this hilarious YouTube video.

Whether or not all the seized funds are returned to the donors or dispersed at the whim of the holding company, GoFundMe is sure to lose most of its appeal. Conservative pundits are already advising the big-hearted public to use alternative sites, like a  certain not-for-profit one run by dedicated Christians.