Greg's Corner

Tagged: donations Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on October 28, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: charity scam ( 34 ), donations, funeral ( 13 ), Scams ( 1,354 )   

  Grim donation scam plagues intersections 

  

  By Greg Collier

  If you’ve driven any amount of time in the US, you’ve undoubtedly seen roadside donations taking place at a certain intersection. Often you’ll see the local fire department out collecting donations to help combat childhood diseases. They’re usually easy to identify since it’s clear who they are from their uniforms. Sometimes you might see a local civic group having a collection drive for any number of reasons. Again, they usually have plenty of signage identifying their organization and what they’re collecting for. But what if you saw a group of people collecting donations for a child’s funeral? Would you toss them a couple of bucks? If you answered yes, you may want to reconsider that donation.

  Recently, we’ve seen reports from various parts of the country where scammers are allegedly setting up shop in busy intersections. They’re said to be holding signs asking for donations to help pay for a teenage girl’s funeral. Or it could also be for the funeral of a young boy. However, the constant theme among all of the scams is the scammers have claimed they need money for a child’s funeral.

  And when we say, it’s happening in different parts of the country, we mean it. We have reports from Western Massachusetts, Southern California, Missouri, and another report from Southern California. While we don’t think the scammers are connected, it can’t be coincidence that these scams have sprung up all around the same time. It’s reminiscent of all the fake violinists who started appearing in parking lots across the country.

  Scammers will use every dirty trick in the book to either lull you into a sense of panic or pull on your heartstrings to try to get your money. And there’s nothing sadder than a funeral for a child to elicit a few donations on the street. However, a funeral scam is probably one of the lowest scams that someone can pull.

   

  Leave a ReplyCancel reply
• 

  Geebo 9:00 am on December 28, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Arkansas ( 3 ), charity ( 17 ), donations, food banks, MacKenzie Scott, volunteer   

  Food bank to receive surprise donation from billionaire 

  

  2020 was a particularly difficult year for food banks. Due to the pandemic, most food banks saw an increase in demand for their services by people who were either laid off or furloughed. Now imagine you’re one of these struggling food banks and you find out you’re going to receive a substantial donation from one of the country’s richest people.

  That’s what happened to a food bank in Arkansas after they were contacted by billionaire and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Scott is the former wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and has promised to donate most of her wealth. So far, Scott has donated close to $2 billion to groups that have historically served marginalized and underserved people.

  But you don’t have to be a billionaire to help your local food bank. You can always donate food as the name implies, however, each food bank has specific needs. Please contact your local food bank to see what their most urgent needs are. Please don’t donate the canned goods that have been sitting in your cabinet that have been collecting dust for years. If you’re not going to eat it, the odds are that the food bank won’t need it. What they do need in most cases is nonperishable foods that have a decent shelf life. Peanut butter and canned meats like tuna and ham are preferred.

  If you don’t know what foods to donate, you can always donate money if you can afford it. Most of these organizations are barely scraping by with their operating costs. Most food banks will not receive donations like the one Ms. Scott will be donating to the Arkansas food bank.

  If you can’t donate food or money you could always volunteer your time. Many of the front-line workers at food banks are the elderly and they’re putting themselves at great risk. The more volunteers a food bank has, the less likely it will be that one of their elderly workers will become infected.

  If you want to help your community recover during these trying times, we can think of no better way than helping with your local food bank.

   
• 

  Geebo 8:00 am on September 29, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Cash App ( 42 ), crime ( 2 ), donations, missing person ( 8 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), Virginia ( 9 )   

  Real disappearance of teen used in Cash App scam 

  

  Earlier this month in Virginia a 17-year-old girl went missing from her home. Tragically, her body was found a few weeks later. However, that did not stop the greed and depravity of at least one scammer. While the victim’s family was mourning for their loss, some scammer took to Instagram to solicit donations in the victim’s name.

  The families of crime victims sometimes do solicit donations for medical or funeral expenses on sites like GoFundMe. Instead, this scammer was asking for donations through Cash App. If you’re unfamiliar with Cash App, it’s a payment app that allows you to send or receive money wirelessly. Due to some of the flaws in its system, Cash App is often used by scammers to collect money and then block the person they stole it from. Victims of Cash App scams usually have little recourse once the money is gone.

  In this instance, a single person is said to have taken to Instagram and posted solicitations for donations through Cash App in the victim’s name. The victim’s family has expressed that no fund for donations has been set up as of yet. There has bee no word that we’ve seen if anyone has actually given money to the scammer.

  There is absolutely nothing wrong with offering assistance to a family in need. However, scammers have shown no remorse in trying to make money through a tragedy no matter how personal it may be to someone. As much as we might hate to say it, even when making donations to someone claiming to be collecting for a crime victim, do your research. Local news outlets almost always have the correct information on where donations can be sent.

  We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention the victim’s name. She was 17-year-old Asia Cowell of Norfolk, Virginia. As of the time of this posting, police are asking for the public’s assistance for any information about Asia’s disappearance. Her body was found in Newport News.

  You can submit an anonymous tip by calling the Crime Line at 1–888-LOCK-U-UP or submit a tip online at p3tips.com if you have any information that might help.

   
• 

  Geebo 9:25 am on June 6, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: charity ( 17 ), classifieds ( 7 ), donations   

  Why not choose charity when you can’t sell? 

  

  We often use classifieds sites like Geebo to not only make some money for ourselves but to also try to get rid of some of the clutter around our homes. However, what do you do when you have some items that you just can’t seem to sell? You always have the option of donating those items to charity.

  Money Talks News, by way of WTOL, has a great article on what charities could use what items. For example, building materials can be used by Habitats for Humanity. Mattresses in decent condition can be used by homeless shelters. Worn linens can be donated to local animal shelters to use as bedding for their animals that are up for adoption. Even older cell phones which are generally hard to sell can be donated to domestic abuse shelters so victims can contact their loved ones and have a lifeline to the outside world. The opportunities for donation are almost endless.

  Let’s not forget our local neighbors either. Often times there are people in need in your own community who may be in need of help who are too proud or too embarrassed to ask for help. There are many community driven websites that help you keep in touch with your local community on a personal basis and some of those people could use your donations. Also, check your nearby churches. While you may not be the religious type, many churches often have outreach programs for the needy that could use some of your donated items. Even if you’re only motivation is money, many donations to charity are often tax-deductible. However, when donating, make sure you’re giving to a legitimate charity as there are many scammers out there who are looking to prey upon the generous and kind-hearted. Even in charity, you should always do your research.

  Just the donation of something you might consider junk given to the right person or organization can mean the difference in the world to somebody who’s in need.