A memorial fundraiser for someone who died is circulating on social media, but I can't verify it's genuine. What should I check?

Genuine memorial fundraisers, often used to help cover funeral costs or support a bereaved family financially, are a real and common practice, particularly for unexpected deaths that leave families with sudden, significant expenses. However, because these fundraisers rely on emotional appeal and often spread rapidly through shares and reposts, they are also frequently imitated by scammers who create duplicate or entirely fake fundraising pages using the same photos, name, and story, hoping to intercept donations intended for the real family.

This is especially common after a death that receives some public attention, such as a local news story, a workplace accident, or a death that goes viral on social media, since the wider the story spreads, the more opportunity a scammer has to create a convincing copy before most people become aware of which fundraiser is the authentic one. Multiple competing fundraisers for the same person, some genuine and some fake, is a common resulting pattern.

Before donating, check whether the fundraiser is directly linked from a source you trust, such as the family's own social media post, a mutual close friend's endorsement, or a local news report that names the specific verified fundraiser, rather than donating to any version that simply appears in your feed or a shared post from someone you don't know well.