Who doesn’t want to make the world a better place? Certainly our hearts go out to someone left homeless in a disaster, or caught up in a political feud they have nothing to do with.

GoFundMe is a popular site for asking for money, though not the only one. And there are legitimate people who post there, needing help for everything from medical expenses to business dreams. Not surprisingly, there are also scammers - though GoFundMe does their best to close scam accounts.

This particular scam leverages GoFundMe or similar sites - or even scam sites pretending to be for donations. A person contacts you after seeing you post on some media platform, or maybe emails you randomly, asking for donations. Maybe they’re in a refugee camp in Kenya, or South Sudan, or escaping violence in Gaza. Maybe it’s to save animals. Or anything that might tug at your heartstrings.

In any case, because it’s usually a legitimate site - or seems to be a legitimate site - some people let their guard down and donate money.

Of course, your money isn’t going towards a sad refugee or a poor pet. It’s going straight into a scammer’s pockets.

How to protect yourself
If you don’t know the person that send you a message via social media or email, don’t donate to the GoFundMe. You don’t know who they are, after all. If it’s a friend or acquaintance that sent you the link, verify that it was them sending you the message via a phone call or similar.

If it’s mass-posted, use your best judgement. Is there something that leaps out as a red flag? If you’re at all suspicious, look for a charity - making sure to vet it, of course! And send that charity money.