A fake fundraiser was started in my name: how to get it shut down

1. What is your situation?

A relative may start a genuine fundraiser to help you: if so, ask them to show it to you. Otherwise, a fundraiser in your name that you don't know about is serious, because someone else is collecting the money.

2. Save evidence before you report

1. Copy the exact address (URL) of the fundraiser and of the organizer's profile. The title and text can be edited or deleted; the address remains the reference.
2. Take dated screenshots of the whole page: title, text, photos used, amount raised, list of donors, organizer's name.
3. Save the messages and posts promoting the fundraiser (social media, messaging apps, emails), with each link.
4. Note what you know about the organizer (username, account, email address if any) without contacting them: don't reply or threaten them, as they could delete everything.
5. Keep proof of who you really are (an ID, for example): a platform may ask you to show the fundraiser concerns you. Send it only through the platform's official channel, never to someone who writes to you claiming to be "support".

3. Report the fundraiser on the platform

Each help center describes a different route. This is what each platform says in its own help pages. Processing times are not announced, so keep proof of your report.

GoFundMe

• GoFundMe's help article "Reporting a fundraiser created in your name" says to click the "Report fundraiser" button at the bottom of the fundraiser page. Explain your relationship to the organizer and to the fundraiser: it helps the team review your request.
• If the fundraiser names you as the beneficiary and you are worried about the funds being received or misused, GoFundMe points to a dedicated reporting tool tied to its beneficiary guarantee.
• GoFundMe says anyone can report a fundraiser at any time and that its team reviews it. For a more complex request, use "Contact us" in the help center.

Leetchi

• In its article "J'ai des doutes sur une cagnotte" (I have doubts about a fundraiser), Leetchi says to use the report button on the fundraiser page. The team then checks whether the concerns are justified and may ask the creator for proof of how the funds are used.
• If signs of fraud are confirmed, the fundraiser is cancelled and participants are refunded as far as funds remain available.
• Your identity is not shared with the fundraiser's creator. To talk to customer service, use the request form in the help center.

Ulule

• Ulule's help center offers a general contact form for questions and problem reports. The help pages consulted do not describe a dedicated "report" button, so explain clearly in the form that the project uses your identity without permission, and include the page address.

HelloAsso

• HelloAsso mainly serves associations. Its help center and contact page are the channels shown on the site. The help pages consulted do not describe a detailed reporting procedure: use that contact and attach the page address and your screenshots.

PayPal

• For a PayPal fundraiser, the help center says to use the "Report this campaign" button on the campaign page. PayPal says it reviews each report to decide whether the fundraiser breaks its policies.

Another platform (social network, donation site, private payment link)

• Look for the "Report" button on the page or account, then the contact form in the help center. The EU Digital Services Act (DSA, Article 16) requires hosting services to provide an easy-to-access mechanism for notifying illegal content. For the wording, use our takedown request template.

What you can write in your report "I am [first name, last name]. This fundraiser (address: ...) uses my identity [my name, my photos] without my permission. I am neither its organizer nor its beneficiary. I ask that it be closed, that all payments be blocked and that the data be preserved for investigators." Attach your screenshots and, if asked, ID through the official channel.

4. Warn friends, family and donors

Closing the page is not enough: some people may already have paid or be about to.

1. Post a clear message on your accounts: "A fundraiser in my name is circulating. It is not me, please don't send anything." Avoid reposting the link so it gets no extra visibility: simply describe it.
2. Write to the people who shared or contributed if you know them: ask them to report the page too and to contact their bank.
3. Tell the platform that donors are affected: it is one of the factors that justify a prompt review.
4. Don't offer to "refund" donors yourself in exchange for a transfer: that could be a second scam and it is not up to you.
5. If a genuine fundraiser exists for you (organized by a relative), ask its organizer to help you tell it apart from the fake one and to share the one official link.

5. If someone already paid: bank and refunds

1. Call the bank quickly. French gendarmerie advice is to contact your bank to try to have the payment cancelled. If the card was used without the holder's knowledge, you also need to block the card.
2. Dispute the transaction. France's consumer institute (INC) states that an unauthorized payment can be disputed within a maximum of 13 months from the debit date in the European Economic Area, and that the bank must then refund immediately and in full. Note: when the donor validated the payment themselves, believing they were helping a real person, the bank looks at the situation case by case and a refund is not automatic. The sooner you call, the more options you have.
3. Report the fraudulent card use on the Interior Ministry's Perceval platform (French service, reachable from service-public.fr). It covers fraudulent use of card data.
4. Ask the platform for a refund. GoFundMe says that if something isn't right, it investigates the fundraiser and refunds donations (the Giving Guarantee; go through "Contact us"). Leetchi refunds participants when fraud is established and funds are available. PayPal reviews reports under its own rules.
5. Keep proof: bank statement, donation receipt, confirmation email, screenshots. You will need them for a complaint.

6. Report to the authorities and file a complaint

1. Report on internet-signalement.gouv.fr (the French Pharos platform), which handles illegal online content and conduct, including scams. A report is not a complaint.
2. File a complaint at a police station or gendarmerie, or in writing to the public prosecutor, for fraud (and identity theft if your name is used). Bring your evidence: fundraiser address, screenshots, messages. For some scams, an online complaint is possible through service-public.gouv.fr.
3. Call Info Escroqueries on 0 805 805 817 (free, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., France), staffed by police and gendarmes who guide victims.
4. Also see 17Cyber, the French service that guides victims of digital offences.
5. Outside France, report to your national police or fraud-reporting service. In the UK, Report Fraud covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Police Scotland takes reports on 101. In the US, use the FBI's ic3.gov.
6. If the platform asks for a legal request before giving the organizer's identity, that is normal: only investigators can obtain it. You may not find out who is behind the fake fundraiser.

7. If the platform doesn't close the fundraiser

1. Follow up with your report reference and new evidence (amounts paid, new links, messages). Stay factual.
2. Notify the fundraiser as illegal content through the DSA mechanism (Article 16), which calls for an acknowledgment and a reasoned decision. Platforms must also offer an internal appeal (Article 20), and you can go to an out-of-court dispute settlement body (Article 21). This applies to services offered in the EU.
3. If your photos or name are shown, also ask for erasure of your personal data under Article 17 of the GDPR (right to erasure), for services subject to the GDPR. If the host does not respond, you can complain to your data protection authority.
4. Check other platforms: the same fake story is often reposted elsewhere. See someone using my photos and online impersonation: what to do.

8. What the law says

In France, fraud means deceiving someone through a false name, a false capacity or deceptive tactics to obtain money. It carries five years' imprisonment and a €375,000 fine (article 313-1 of the Criminal Code). Impersonating a third party online to disturb their peace or harm their honor is punishable by one year in prison and a €15,000 fine (article 226-4-1). The rules differ in other countries. This page is general information, not legal advice: for your own case, talk to a lawyer or the police.