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Mutual aid spam is becoming a problem on the Fediverse. (atomicpoet.org)

submitted 1 day ago by atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org to c/fediverse@lemmy.world

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Mutual aid spam is becoming a problem on the Fediverse.

And to be sure, I'm not against mutual aid. What I am against is spam.

This person has not verified who she is -- or even if the profile picture is hers. Additional research on her name states she is a scammer with a record of grifting. I am therefore skeptical that any donations will help anyone in need.

Folks, please be cautious with mutual aid requests. Yes, people sometimes need help. But people also lie.

@fediverse@lemmy.world

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[-] youronlyone@app.wafrn.net 27 points 1 day ago

@fediverse @atomicpoet Yep! Majority of them are questionable, even those who claim they were "manually" verified by some supposedly "well-known" person. Even in the ATmosphere network, it's the same.

[-] horse_battery_staple@lemmy.world 35 points 1 day ago

That's not mutual aid that's charity. Mutual aid is mutually beneficial to both parties.

[-] TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee 20 points 1 day ago

This is nothing, on hexbear there's a person pretending to be like half a dozen different Palestinians with different fraudulent GoFundMe. They cook up a new persona like every other week using pictures they scrape from the media and then run it through an AI filter.

[-] rustyfish@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Same on Bluesky. And they are everywhere. Couple of years ago some accounts did this multiple times on Imgur. Even today occasionally some pop up again, but now the users are quick to call them out…with the admins doing jack shit. Which is classic for that site.

When coming across a sob story my knee jerk reaction is “bullshit”. If you want to give money to charity, do so through a reputable organisation. And don’t trust any rando on the internet.

[-] regineheidorn@gruene.social 20 points 1 day ago

@atomicpoet @fediverse THX for putting this clearly on the table, I had this scepticism for some time already ...

[-] atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org 19 points 1 day ago

@regineheidorn @fediverse Yeah, people I know boosted her messages—which implies they may have given her money. The thing is, that grifter’s success is going to attract other grifters if this problem isn’t addressed.

[-] regineheidorn@gruene.social 7 points 1 day ago

@atomicpoet @fediverse Yes. And we know this from the early e-mail days already ...

[-] SuperSleuth@lemm.ee 17 points 1 day ago

Yep I've already gotten a couple messages like this with an image of a random lady attached:

Hi, I’m Nicole! I’m a proud Polish girl from Toronto (29 y/o)

I’m currently taking the pre-health sciences program at George Brown College hoping to get into the medical field someday!

You can add me on Friendica: [REDACTED]

and join my discord here: [REDACTED]

[-] wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Hi, I'm ~~Nicole~~ wizardbeard! I'm a ~~proud~~ aromatic ~~Polish~~ Abyssal ~~girl~~ tube sock with googly eyes from ~~Toronto~~ the space between your walls (~~29 y/o~~ 50 ft)

I’m currently taking the ~~pre-health sciences program at George Brown College~~ socks from your dryer hoping to ~~get into the medical field~~ find a broodmother for the spawn that will form the ranks of my holy army someday!

You can't add me on Friendica. It's far too late for that. Far far too late for anyone to do anything to stop this.

Your socks may be returned to you but they may never be the same.

[-] samus12345@lemm.ee 5 points 1 day ago

I only ever got one. I feel so rejected!

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 4 points 1 day ago

😭 I didn't get any. Why don't Polish egirls like me?

[-] PugJesus@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago

I was just offered 500$ to be someone's friend. Of course, I refused - my friendship is worth much more than that!

But it's... concerning that we've got this sudden spike in spam.

[-] can@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 day ago

Tell them I'll do it for $495

[-] WolfmanEightySix@piefed.social 5 points 1 day ago

I’ll be their mate if they pay me £400.

[-] rustyfish@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

…

What kind of friend are we talking about?

[-] stuart@social.brainsys.com 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

@atomicpoet @fediverse

Thankfully that would almost certainly be a scam in my country and many others.

I am an asthmatic. Well controlled by a thrice daily cocktail of medicines. All free at the point of need. Paid for by our taxes.

The true scandal is the countries that make this plea possible.

[-] maplebar@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago

I blocked MutualAid-related tags months ago because there is only so much begging and sob stories that a person can take.

I feel sorry for people who have problems and situations so desperate that they feel the best way to fix them is asking random people on the internet for money, but I just don't know if I can trust them and I absolutely know I can't help everyone.

[-] Punchshark@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 day ago

Who is seriously stupid enough to fall for this?

[-] BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk 31 points 1 day ago

My cat just died chewing through the power cable on my graphics card so I need a new 5090, please help brother

[-] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago

I can mail you a brand new cat. Good enough?

[-] lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 1 day ago

Careful! Might be a bobcat.

[-] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Ssssshhhh....

[-] BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Dear brother in Christ I appreciate your generosity, is it a Siamese cat? I have allergies and the graphics card helps to clear the hair.

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[-] VerifiedSource@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Dear comrade Laser, ✊★🚩

the fascist Melon Muskrat needs to be destroyed. The last couple of weeks I have been practicing propaganda of the deed and marked Tesla swasticars appropriately all over my state. Here's a photo with proof of a recent artwork of mine.

Fighting this essential antifascist fight in these times of techno-feudal-nazi takeover costs me a lot of time and also money for supplies like spray cans, bus tickets, burner phones, and now also legal costs.

Last week the fucking pigs (ACAB) caught me when a petit bourgeois snitch reported me and now I'm in legal trouble. The class traitors now want to squeeze 3500 $ from me.

Your solidarity and mutual aid is essential for me and my comrades to continue the fight against tyranny. Every little thing helps.

Revolutionary thanks and Antifascist greetings

Secure Monero XMR transfer: monero:83XjbrEebhaZjgyVYZUjsZ4cF43UhQNHKBd6UUqPwmEuGLEoDGs67ebMg7nDLnj65bCsqKfPwGzuR3a1318u4fQbMWV8U4x

You can send it using https://stealthex.io/ or https://changenow.io/ for example with a credit card or if you own other crypto.

no pasarán. hasta la victoria siempre. ✊

[-] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

@fediverse@lemmy.world

Whoa, is this from Mastodon?

[-] atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

@Feathercrown@lemmy.world No, this account is specifically from Akkoma. I have also submitted posts from my Pixelfed account.

I can submit a post to Lemmy by mentioning the community handle in my post. Such is the magic of the Fediverse.

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[-] bss03@infosec.pub 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Don't boost it. If it violates your instance's rules (e.g. it's a scam), report it. Unfollow people that boost it. Mute/block the poster or their content.

I don't mind seeing it, and I don't think it is a problem (yet).

Agree that caution is warranted for any request of funds, whatever the requestor wants to call it.

[-] IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 1 day ago

I would just reply with a guide to shoplifting 😉

[-] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 day ago

Was that a PM or a post?

[-] electric@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Isn't asthma medication pretty cheap and long lasting? From what little I know an inhaler can last many months. Also if they can't afford that, surely they have state medical insurance to help with it? Just seems so scammy.

[-] 10001110101@lemm.ee 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Also if they can’t afford that, surely they have state medical insurance

Ha! No, depending on the state, there are tons of barriers, means-testing, work requirements, mandated classes they might not be able to attend (due to childcare/lack of transportation), etc.

Even after the ACA, ER visits are still all the healthcare many people get.

[-] noxypaws@pawb.social 7 points 1 day ago

my inhaler is $70 per month with insurance. though it's a bit different from an albuterol inhaler, mine is a dry powder steroid thing, and it has a VERY short 30 day shelf life once opened.

was $10 last year with insurance, but of course that shit changes every year..