GREENSBORO, N.C. — Hours after Damar Hamlin collapsed on the football field during the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati game on January 2, 2023, ESPN posted on Twitter:
The Go Fund Me Damar Hamlin started in 2020 to give toys to kids in his community went from thousands of dollars in donations to a million plus
When 2 Wants To Know took a screenshot of the Go Fund Me page at 1:30 p.m. on January 3, 2023, the total was $4.3 million and climbing with 158,000 separate donations.
The page had been updated to say the page was initially established to support the toy drive, but it will now be used to help the community and for Hamlin's current medical fight.
It also includes this line: This is the only current fund that is being used by the Hamlin family. And the picture was changed from the original.
It's key to know the legit site being used. Go Fund Me also put out a post pointing people to the verified site.
Don't believe any texts or emails you may get that ask you to donate. That's not how it works.
“Scammers are notorious for creating sound-alike campaigns and taking advantage and we are in a prime example, this is so new, no one knows what the page looks like. It's too easy for them to set up a fake website to take advantage of what we're feeling right now,” said Lechelle Yates with the Better Business Bureau.
When 2 Wants To Know typed in Damar Hamlin on the Go Fund Me site, the verified page popped up and other sites did too. All of the other sites have pictures of Hamlin with titles like “Hospital Expenses”, “Donate To Help”, and “Toy Drive Foundation”. Each listed a creation date of “just now”. As of this article, there were no signs this was actually created by a family member.
Go Fund Me has this helpful info on their website:
Read the fundraiser
The fundraiser page should answer the following:
- How is the organizer related to the intended recipient of the donations?
- What is the purpose of the fundraiser and how will the funds be used?
- Are direct family and friends making donations and leaving words of encouragement?
- Is the intended recipient in control of the withdrawals? If not, is there a clear path for the funds to reach them?
If any of the points above are missing on the fundraiser, we encourage you to message the organizer by clicking 'Contact' next to their name on their fundraiser to ask for more information.