Fundraising scam using a fake account of Humboldt Broncos bus crash victim

A fake twitter account and donation page in Ryan Straschnitzki’s name was discovered Monday, April 30th 2018. Ryan Straschnitzki is one of the victims of the  Humboldt Broncos bus crash tragedy who continues to undergo treatment and rehabilitation. The fake Twitter account had Ryan’s picture, as well as a photo of the Humboldt Broncos Saskatchewan junior hockey team and liked to a fake GoFundMe page asking for donations but Straschnitzki’s parents were quick to tweet the neither belonged to their son.

The campaign organizer has also been banned from using the GoFundMe platform for any future campaigns and Rachel Hollis with GoFundMe confirmed, no funds were raised and they already removed the campaign. But the News 1130 reported that a Vancouver woman almost got scammed and she had stopped herself from donating when she realized the page only had $1,300 donated to it by Sunday night. The legit GoFundMe page raised over $15 million dollars which were closed on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

The scammers make pages look genuine which makes it harder and harder to spot the scam. As per Better Business Bureau  (BBB), these types of scams happen after almost every tragedy or successful fundraising campaign.  Online donation pages are not regulated so when you are donating please make sure to goes to the right people and for a legitimate cause.  If you’re unsure about a GoFundMe page or a donation page go through the details and ask the organizer how they’re connected to the case and how the money will be distributed. Also you can verify it by contacting the organization directly. If you notice any fraudulent page, fake fundraising campaigns, fake accounts asking for dominations etc. report it to the Police, CAFC and Better Business Bureau.