The mother of a sick child from Sackville, N.B., is angry after discovering someone tried to exploit the family’s situation to collect money for themselves.
Erin Curwin’s 14-month-old daughter, Marlie, was diagnosed with Type 2 leukemia three months ago and still hasn't found a bone marrow match.
The family created a GoFundMe page, which has raised over $10,000 to help for expenses while away from home. On Monday night, Curwin discovered a fake GoFundMe page, using Marlie’s story to collect funds.
"I was very mad that somebody would use my daughter's illness to try to benefit, and get money," said Curwin. “My sister had sent me a text with the link asking me if I knew the person who had set it up, and she said, ‘If not, I'll report it.’”
The other page turned out not to be connected to the family, and a request was made to the site’s administration to have it taken down.
The page was removed by Tuesday afternoon.
“I would encourage anyone who has been the victim of, or target of anything like this, to report it to their local RCMP detachment, and also to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre," said Cpl. Jennifer Clark of Nova Scotia RCMP.
The false page managed to attract a couple of $100 donations before it was shut down.
Curwin says she'd like to see the person who attempted to exploit her family's situation tracked down and punished.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ron Shaw.
