I'm putting out a scam warning post for the user @/widelys for the following red flags:
New blog suddenly asking for money
They're allegedly fundraising for a sick child, a classic scam story, very young, sick or injured children are a common scam detail for sympathy alongside the elderly & pets, & this is an immediate red flag
Vague reason for fundraising & classic scam story: Instead of listing any actual diagnosis of what illness the child allegedly has (& which a doctor would give them if they were actually in the hospital), they instead list vague symptoms, such as "respiratory issues", which is another scammer tactic popular with scammers such as ivysour, and even claiming specifically "breathing issues" is a popular choice in their fake stories
Odd details/information doesn't add up: their story & wording is generally very odd, such as claiming that theyre fundraising for a premature child that needs surgery while also randomly adding on that theres ANOTHER premature child "back at home" & claiming that the child needed surgery immediately but then says they have to "pay for therapy" instead yet won't reveal how their diagnosis of how this helps them & wont give out alleged venmo (so adding irrelevant, hyperspecific information & details but then withholding relevant information that would be useful for the fundraiser or proving legitimacy)
The person behind the fundraiser isn't the person who would be recieving the donations & has an undisclosed/vague relationship with the person they're fundraising for: this is very common for scams & we see this a lot with things like the "savemysister" scam & such, which scammers usually do to cover up any details they might steal from other people for their fake story. Why aren't the actual parents of the child fundraising for this child themselves? How do we know their story isn't just being used to scam?
Zero or lack of proof. No proof of any hospital bill or that they're at the hospital they claim to be at, or any proof in general. They show one photo of a baby and parent but has no proof that they have any relationship to this person & that they didn't just steal it.
Changing the fundraiser goal each time its met asking for more money: Their original goal of $3,000 was met, & yet now they claim they need another $1,000 despite claiming they only needed the first goal & that the child's surgery was already planned & is now suddenly canceled for unspecified reasons. Scammers do this to keep asking for more money on the same account
Immediately Blocking multiple scam busting blogs & people for asking simple questions regarding the fundraiser. Again, big red flag for scammers. These people did not immediately accuse this person of being a scammer & asked for details regarding their fundraiser, & this blog blocked both accounts. Either this person claims to be new to tumblr & genuine yet blocked 2 known scam busting blogs for no reason , or theyre definitely not new & they blocked them because they know they're up to no good, both are red flags & you should find suspicious.
