Dispicable people are looking to profit off Damar Hamlin’s tragic injury by creating fraudulent GoFundMe campaigns, advertised as helping the athlete who’s currently fighting for his life.
A spokesperson for GoFundMe told TMZ, there’s only 1 verified fundraiser on GoFundMe confirmed by Damar’s family, The Chasing M’s Foundation Community Toy Drive, which has surpassed $4.7M since Damar’s incident.
TMZ has learned, anything not authorized by the family is already being taken down in real-time.
Several campaigns went live since Damar’s cardiac arrest Monday night, with some saying the funds will benefit him directly while in the hospital, and others are exact replicas of his toy drive fundraiser.
A GoFundMe spokesperson told TMZ that the company’s top priority is keeping people safe and to “protect the generosity of our donors.” Adding that it isn’t uncommon for others to jump on the platform and try to help out. That being said, GoFundMe will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Unfortunately, scammers are trying to capitalize on this tragedy. Scammers have also been known to make random phone calls seeking bogus donations in the form of gift cards and bank transfers.
According to his family, there is only one legitimate fundraiser affiliated with Damar Hamlin.
Damar Hamlin. Photo courtsey of BBC
