GREENSBORO, North Carolina — It feels good to give. You find a worthy cause and give some of your hard earned money to help someone out.
But what if the cause isn't so worthy? What if it was a scam all along?
It happened this week when the Randolph County Sheriff's Office said a Triad woman lied about having cancer to raise money on GoFundMe.
Here are a few things you can look for.
There should be a clear description of how the campaign organizer is related to the recipients of the fund and how funds will be used.
You can also look to see if relatives and friends of the organizer are donating and leaving supportive comments. That's a good sign.
See if pictures on the GoFundMe were pulled from the internet by doing a reverse image search. If the image is elsewhere online, be wary!
Next, ask questions. Reach out to the campaign organizer before handing over any money. If you see any red flags take them seriously.
If you suspect fraud like someone who isn't sick asking for money to pay for medical treatments, contact Gofundme, the Attorney General's Office, and police.
A GoFundMe spokesperson told News 2, "If law enforcement or a user finds campaigns are misused, donors are fully protected and will get refunded" up to a thousand dollars.
Keep this in mind though,refunds are also completely up to GoFundMe.
In some cases, they'll give you a credit to donate to another fundraiser instead of a refund.
All this to say, do your homework before you give your money away.