Peer-to-peer fundraising on digital platforms for good causes seems like a good idea. Money has been collected to pay medical bills or defray the cost of a funeral. And, the for-profit companies such as GoFundMe and YouCaring, which facilitate those transactions, are earning revenue. Isn't this yet another "miracle" of technology!
But there are increasing concerns about the potential for fraud. Cases of that have already happened. In one situation the miscreant did jail time.
Currently, the sites are primarily self-regulating. Their leadership contend there have been few instances of fraud. Though the system isn't perfect, it seems to them to be good-enough.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, outsiders are not satisfied with the self-regulating whatevers in place. They are wondering if there are laws which exist that can be applied to online charitable fraud. And, if not, shouldn't laws be made which can be used against cons and act as deterrents.
The amazing thing is that there has been so much trust in charitable crowdfunding so far. The Baby Boomers among us remember participating in clubs in which collections were made for a sick member or a holiday gift for the leader. The person collecting would disappear. When I was on the board of a branch of the American Marketing Association, there was only one signature needed to withdraw funds from the bank account. The person authorized for that signature fled the country with over $4,000.
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