While the term “It’s not official until it’s on Facebook” may be becoming somewhat of a popular saying, for one man in Arizona, that saying is thankfully not always true.
Jared Aguilar from Mesa, Arizona, woke up Christmas morning thinking everything was normal, unaware that scammers had set up a GoFundMe page eliciting donations for his funeral.
Cyber scammers had taken a photo of Aguilar and used it to create a GoFundMe page, claiming he had passed away but money was needed for his burial. The link was posted onto Facebook so it would be seen by Aguilar’s friends and family, who, the scammers hoped, would donate money which would presumably be stolen.
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“We opened up presents and whatnot. My brother calls me over and says ‘Hey I found this, you’re dead,” Aguilar said to local news, “I’m like ‘What the heck, what’s going on?”
“My phone is blowing up at this point. Friends, co-workers – people I haven’t talked to me in two years are calling me, texting me,”
Luckily no one donated, and the Facebook links were soon deleted, and the GoFundMe page was also subsequently removed.
It’s just an unfriendly reminder that crooks will stop at nothing to make a quick buck. Remember, before you donate to a good cause, make sure it’s the real deal, first.