article_snippet.sent: The family of a North Carolina toddler who drowned in a pool last week went to set up an online fundraiser to help The family of a North Carolina toddler who drowned in a pool with his funeral costs, only to discover that scammers have beat scammers to the punch.
article_snippet.sent: Preying on the weak: When the toddler's family went to set up a GoFundMe account to help raise money towards the funeral, the toddler's family have discovered several unsanctioned fundraisers.
article_snippet.sent: This screen shot shows the real page set up by the Wests .
article_snippet.sent: We had a big setback when phony GoFundMe accounts were set up before I made one, so
article_snippet.sent: I don't know just how many donated to these scams before the real GoFundMe page got set up,’ Mr West lamented to the station WBTV.
article_snippet.sent: What people will do to make a buck off of a child.
article_snippet.sent: several unsanctioned fundraisers have since been deleted from GoFundMe.com, but ’ Mr West says the toddler's family are still in desperate financial straits and are in urgent need of donations.
article_snippet.sent: As of Friday evening, only $315 has been raised.
article_snippet.sent: A spokesperson for GoFundMe said in a statement that the company investigates every complaint of fraud the company receives.
article_snippet.sent: In the rare event that we do find fraudulent activity on an account, we have the power to remove the account, refund donors, and ban the user from ever signing up again,’ a statement read.
highlights_snippet.sent: Several fake fundraisers sprang up after Austin's death to collect money .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: The bogus GoFundMe pages created in Austin's name have since been removed .