False imagery used to raise funds for victims: Philippine consulate

The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver is warning the public that official imagery is being falsely used online by people claiming to raise money to support victims and families of a deadly attack at a street festival on Saturday.

Eleven people are dead and dozens more were hospitalized after a man drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Filipino Lapu Lapu Day street festival in Vancouver.

Most victims have yet to be officially identified as of Monday, but various online fundraising campaigns have been set up to assist families.

In a post to social media, the Philippine Consulate General says it has been made aware of some of the pages using its official messaging “as a backdrop” to their campaigns.

“The public is advised that the Philippine Consulate General has not created any fundraising efforts nor has sanctioned any entities to raise funds on behalf of the victims of the Lapu-Lapu Day incident,” said a statement Sunday.

“The public is also advised to exercise vigilance and prudence to avoid being victimized by unscrupulous and malicious actors attempting to exploit this tragedy that has befallen the Filipino community in British Columbia.”

In response to the incident, popular fundraising site GoFundMe says it has activated a crisis response team.

“We are devastated by the news of this tragedy in Vancouver. In times of crisis, we quickly mobilize our global team of Trust and Safety specialists who are responsible for monitoring the platform,” said a statement to 1130 NewsRadio.

GoFundMe says the team is continually vetting and verifying all fundraisers for those affected and collecting the pages on a centralized hub.

As of Monday morning, only two fundraisers have been added to the hub page, with nearly $150,000 raised.