Fake Damar Hamlin campaigns go viral as GoFundMe races to take down sham fundraisers
Damar Hamlin's tragedy has shown the good side of humanity in the wake of his accident. During the Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, Hamlin collapsed after making a routine tackle on Tee Higgins. He needed CPR and was rushed to a hospital where he currently remains.
A GoFundMe started by Hamlin had a $250,000 goal to collect toys for children in need. NFL fans (as well as players) across the globe have donated to it and it has raised over $6 million so far.
On the flip side of that, the bad side of humanity has come out. With donations coming in at a rapid pace, people have created fake pages on GoFundMe to try to misappropriate money intended for Hamlin's charity and care.
The company is already cracking down and trying to remove all the fake fundraisers, which is unfortunately easier said than done. These fake campaigns include people pretending to raise money for him in the hospital and others being replicas of the toy drive he himself posted.
But once again, the good side of humanity has shown through. A specific campaign was created with the sole purpose of warning potential donors about all the fake ones out there.
It should be noted that not every single fake campaign is trying to steal money in the wake of the tragedy. A few are misguided and improper attempts to genuinely do some good, just without going about it the right way.
Fortunately, GoFundMe is on top of things and is watching every Damar Hamlin GoFundMe page closely.
Update on Damar Hamlin
The latest update on Hamlin has come from his uncle, who says that he's heavily sedated but appears to be trending upwards. For a player that is in critical condition, that is incredible news.
The NFL said they will not resume the game this week. They are yet to make any changes to the schedule as they try and figure out what to do in this unprecedented event.
You can keep up to date with the latest developments on Damar Hamlin here.