Scammers set up fake crowdfunding pages after death of 11-year-old girl
Days after her daughter’s death, a Western Australian mum had to deal with hackers trying to scam money from supportive friends and family.
Abbey Forrest, an 11-year-old girl from northern Western Australia died on September 7. Miss Forrest was sitting in the back of a ute driving near Wyndham when she was thrown from the tray and suffered fatal injuries.
Two days after her daughter’s death, mother Jessie Forrest was forced to make a statement on her Facebook, explaining the fundraising accounts asking for money to cover her daughter’s funeral were scams.
“In this tragic time someone has HACKED me and started a GoFund Me,” Ms Forrest said on Facebook on September 11.
“They have inboxed people. Please don’t donate and for those who have you can ask for a refund.”
A fake account using Ms Forrest’s name was set up and the person behind it sent a link to the fundraising page - Go Get Funding, which is a site similar to Go Fund Me, to friends, according to the West Australian.
When the first page was shut down, another popped up minutes later under her 20-year-old son’s name.
The friends who donated to the fundraiser were refunded and WA Police are investigating, according to The West Australian.
Speaking to The West Australian, Ms Forrest said the fundraiser was “set up for exploitation.”
“It was really horrible. Amongst grieving and processing the new reality that we were living in, we had scammers taking advantage of a tragic situation,” Ms Forrest told The West Australian.
In a statement to WA Today, Go Get Funding said the fundraisers were quickly deleted and the user had been banned from the platform.
The spokeswoman also confirmed those who donated were refunded.
Abbey’s funeral will be on October 7, which would have been her 12th birthday.
Since her daughter’s death, Ms Forrest has taken to Facebook to pay tribute, saying the week following her daughter’s death was “the longest and hardest week” of her life.
“I will never be able to make sense as to why this happened to my Abbey Rose,” Ms Forrest wrote.
“I have left her clothes on the line, before long I’ll have to bring them in and fold them and put them on her bed.”
Tom Forrest, Abbey’s older brother, also paid tribute to her following her death.
“Abbey was a beautiful, kind and loving girl, with an amazing sense of humour who touched the lives of many in her lifetime,” he wrote on Facebook.
“I’m extremely grateful for the time I got to spend with her, being by her side since birth. She was an amazing sister to have and affected me so much as my little sister, in my lifetime.”
Ms Forrest explained how she didn’t initially tell Abbey’s two-year-old sister what had happened. Now they have a routine where they acknowledge Abbey’s photos, to keep her memory alive.
According to The West Australian, Abbey had been accepted into three boarding schools and she delivered a “powerful” speech about her wanting to be a good leader when she accepted an East Kimberley Aboriginal Achievement Award in August.
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