Beware of Fake GoFundMe Account
Submitted by BridgetB on October 10, 2019 - 3:08pm
The City of Urbana has been made aware of a fraudulent GoFundMe campaign circulating within the local area.
"It looks like a GoFundMe campaign, sent from our domain and with our City's name and logo," Sanford Hess, City of Urbana IT Director said.
Phishing is a method of trying to gather personal information using deceptive emails and websites. It is a sophisticated form of cyberattack.
The goal is to trick the email recipient into believing that the message is something needed or wanted. It can be a request from a bank, a note from an insurance company-which are all fake-to entice people to click a link or download an attachment.
In this particular phishing scheme, an email is sent with a fake email address, which includes the City’s name and logo, asking for help for a sick child, who does not exist.
“But, this is really a phish, and the (fake) GoFundMe link goes to a PayPal account,” Hess reiterated.