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Someone posing as a booster for slain Detroit officer Loren Courts' memorial fund has been using a copycat Instagram account to solicit contributors to the real fund.
From The Detroit News:
The Collin Rose Memorial Foundation, named for the Wayne State University Police K9 officer who was gunned down in 2016, launched a Loren Courts Memorial Fundraiser social media effort after Courts was killed July 6 in an ambush.
Rose's former partner, foundation organizer and St. Clair Shores police officer Chris Powell, said someone cloned the group's Instagram account.
"They're emailing people who made a donation on our platform thanking them, and if they respond, they're running the typical Amazon gift card scam (in which the grifter asks the recipient to purchase Amazon gift cards and give the scammer the serial numbers)."
Powell reportedly ended his fundraiser early in hopes no one would fall for the scam. He tells The News his foundation has raised about $25,000 for Courts' family.
While the survivors of officers killed in the line of duty are provided benefits that include a one-time payment of between $350,000-$425,000 through the federal Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, it often takes months — sometimes years — to cut through the red tape, Powell said
