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   sam :verified_woem: (starshine@woem.space)'s status on Sunday, 17-Sep-2023 03:42:48 JST sam :verified_woem:

   ok i don’t really like doing this but i’ve gotten two dms now in two days so:
   we’ve gotten a couple dms now, all saying “hi” or “hello”, from new accounts that have links to a fundraiser for lgbtq people in the kakuma refugee camp. this camp is real, and i have no doubt that there are people there who need help, but we have serious doubts that these specific fundraisers will ever result in aid for the people there.

   this cropped up on reddit last year, and mods from a couple large queer subreddits spoke up about it likely being a scam:

   • https://old.reddit.com/r/MtF/comments/101nf0p/some_thoughts_on_the_folks_in_the_kakuma_refugee/
   • https://old.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/wacwlw/regarding_kakuma_camp/

   the account that DMed us a couple days is gone now (whether it was suspended or deleted, we don’t know), but the profile is still cached on our instance, and it links to the same fundraiser, organised by someone in… rome? which is all pretty suspicious and lines up with the behaviour of these accounts on reddit as well

   to be clear: yes, mutual aid in general is a good thing! but this specific situation reeks of being a scam, from the fresh accounts to history on other websites.

   please, be careful with fundraisers that are posted by people who aren’t established, real users

   • Puniko ? repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Melissa G (melissagreen@chaosfem.tw)'s status on Monday, 18-Sep-2023 19:22:49 JST Melissa G

     in reply to

     @starshine I am in contact with a group in Kakuma that I support directly. I have regular video chats with my friends there. Conditions for them are very hard, and I'm happy to help them any way I can.

     However, this being the world it is, I am absolutely 100% sure that there are other actors out there who are perfectly happy to use their plight as a way to scam people.

     For my background, I worked in International Development for many years, alongside my wife. I knew enough to tell a legitimate story from a fake one.

     Be careful when dealing with this kind of thing. If you have any doubts and still want to help, give to an organization that works with refugees, such as International Rescue Committee or Medecins Sans Frontiers.