I just assume any blog that @-s me or DMs me asking me to donate to them/their gofundme/etc is a bot/scam because if they were real people they would see I'm a jobless terminally ill person living in poverty who's bank account is empty or overdrawn more often than it isn't so no I cannot 'send you just $70', if I had $70 I would already have used it to buy groceries/medication/bills.
I cannot express enough, money that goes In to my account is Gone within the week. It is spent Immediately on catching up on bills and etc. I owe bills Right Now that are going unpaid because my bank account has $0.00 in it. I paid some of my internet bill today and it wiped me down to $0 and it still! isn't! fully! paid! One of my loving lovely partners just paid to have it turned back on!!
And it's particularly frustrating in the way it takes attention and funding away from non-bots who need help, because people get so inundated with copy pasted asks and random DMs that eventually every. single. request. starts blending together into background noise. It makes people suspicious of everyone, even people who genuinely are in awful situations and need support.
Like, there ARE real people online who need help. I would know! I literally survive off of the kindness of others while I pursue disability! I am one of those real people relying to you! And I am not the only one! Other Disabled people, homeless people, people fleeing abuse, people trying to keep their utilities on, people who need medication or food. But when every third notification is some completely random account asking for money with a script they clearly sent to 500 other people, it destroys inter-community trust.
