The Exploitation of the Australian Wildfires by Spencer Hyatt.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/instagram-scammers-australia-bushfires_n_5e17498cc5b61f70194b1bda
The bushfires in Australia have incinerated millions of acres of land, killed millions of animals, and killed at least 24 people. The outcry for this tragedy has been enormous on social media with celebrities such as Chris Hemsworth donating a million dollars to the cause. Many reputable organizations such as The Australian Red Cross have helped in the efforts of setting the fire out tremendously. However, others have seen this tragedy as the perfect opportunity to capitalize on others good intentions. Popular means of executing this scam are as follows: “1 LIKE/COMMENT = 1 DOLLAR DONATED”, Paypal and other cash app links, false claims of affiliation with reputable organizations.
Have you seen these scams on social media? If so, where?
What are ways to avoid being scammed and actually make a difference?
What do you believe the consequence should be for creating these scams?
Yes I have seen many scams like this on Instagram because a lot of people want to make a lot of money/followers and they think exploiting a wildfire will help.
ReplyDelete-Anthony
Some ways to avoid being scammed are firstly don’t use Instagram as your source to find organizations to donate. You can also research reputable organizations that will really help the cause
ReplyDelete-Spencer
I've seen these scams a lot on instagram and I find it disrespectful and selfish for people to take a serious problem like this and use it for likes and scam people out of their money.
ReplyDelete~Vicki
I feel like some of them could be spams but I do feel like most of them could just be really genuinely desperately needing help and just don't know where or how to get it so they go to the internet cause the internet spreads messages fast than print
ReplyDelete- Kimora k.
DeleteI think there should definitely be a punishment for this. It has to be illegal in some way. If they are scamming people out of money they should be put in jail. If they are just being an annoying clout chaser, they should get a fine. -Gracey Bell
ReplyDeleteI have seen post like that on instagram, however I don't think that they are all scams. The best way to avoid it would be to donates to trustworty organizations like the red cross. Also if you look at the account and do a little bit of research you could find out if it is a reliable source.
ReplyDelete-Corey Ables
I have seen these scams on social media, mainly on Instagram. People repost a picture that claims for every repost, they will donate $1 to the Australia Wildfires.
ReplyDeletei think the people who pay money to these scams its there fault. i think this becuase if i were to go pay for one of my friends food i would only pay for sombody that i know its going to be worth while.-Drew
ReplyDeleteI see this as messed up. I thought about it more, and the ones that are just saying to like and comment or whatever are good because they spread awareness. However the ones that trick people into donating should be banned or punished in some way, because that is most definitely breaking some law out there, and it's just a messed up thing to do overall. It's a hard topic to discuss because everyone has their motives, and some hide it better than others, and especially over the internet it can be almost impossible to tell why someone does what they does.
ReplyDelete-Bradley W.
I think there should be a punishment for someone scamming innocent people trying to help. I think a way we could know it is true is if the person who posted it had links to other places to donate that are credible sources, I also think you could trust its real is if the person posting it has given back on other occasions. -Elena Appel
ReplyDeleteI agree that the people making the accounts are just doing it for self promotion, they aren't actually donating money to anyone and once they gain a lot of followers, they change the account all together just for publicity of themselves which is selfish but happens with every natural disaster that occurs. Ways to avoid the scams are to not donate through a person, and rather go to a trusted website and donate there where you know your money will actually be making a difference. -Gabby Abowitz
ReplyDeleteOne way to avoid being scammed is to do research on the people/company that is asking you for money. If it's a reputable organization or a news station you can probably trust it. Or if its a very famous person and that account has been verified by Instagram or the app you're using. An example of one of these people creating huge donations is when JJ Watt raised millions of dollars for those affected by Hurricane Harvey in Houston. -Cal Reynolds
ReplyDeleteI think the events that are happening in Australia are very tragic and sad, it is a reflection of what we are doing to our own earth. The things that people are doing online is also very assaulting because one they are stealing people money that are going to a cause that needs a lot of help.
ReplyDelete-Teagan Dunne
I have seen this happen a lot on social media, mainly instagram but i guarentee it happens on other websites too and i believe that if a person really made money off this and lied about where it was going they should be penalized it should be some sort of form of fraud or purjury.
ReplyDeleteAdam Spizman
DeleteI feel like the consequence for posting these types of scams should be punished by being banned of the platform for a bit like maybe a day or two.
ReplyDelete-Sebastian
I have seen many people online posting about this online but not much is being done about it and its sad to see this used as a fame grab - jake m
ReplyDeleteA way to see if you are being scammed could be checking the services to make sure they're liable or researching the creators of these sites. I think scams like these should be punished because they aren't taking something as big as the fires in Australia as seriously as they should be. -Izzy
ReplyDeleteI have not seen any of these scams on social media because I don't use social media. Heck, I don't even have a PHONE. And plus, even if I did, I would never fall for such a trick because I, unlike a lot of people, actually have common sense!
ReplyDelete~Nicholas Pariera
I do not understand how people are getting scammed in these ways. If you are still falling for simple scams like this than you really should not be on the internet.
ReplyDelete