Scammers attempting to cash in on missing Sullivan kids case: SAR group
CBC
A Halifax search team warned Tuesday that "fraudulent individuals and organizations" are impersonating them and asking for money under the guise of trying to find Lilly and Jack Sullivan, the two Pictou County children who have been missing since May 2.
"Please be advised that we do not request donations via third-party fundraising platforms like GoFundMe or direct messages," the alert from Halifax Search and Rescue said in part.
In an interview with CBC's Mainstreet Halifax on Wednesday, Paul Service, the chief director of Halifax Search and Rescue, said the organization recently learned about an online fundraiser purportedly intending to help launch a drone search for Lilly and Jack Sullivan.
"At the end of it, it listed Halifax Search and Rescue as a beneficiary of the search if they didn't use all the funding. And certainly, we're not aware of that campaign at all, we're not endorsing it," Service said.
He said it's unfortunate that someone would try to take advantage of the case of the missing Sullivan children, but he's seen it happen with other high-profile searches.
"There's potential opportunity, you know, [there's] high traffic in the media right now on the file, lots of attention — so they're able to generate based off of that interest," he explained.
Service said the fake fundraisers tend to originate outside Nova Scotia. He said he's seen one from Ontario and another from the United States.
"So they're really not local and that's something that people should be looking for."
Service said the latest fraudulent fundraiser was brought to his attention by people who saw it online and asked him about it.
The Halifax team gets its funding from the Halifax municipality and the provincial government and also carries out some local fundraising efforts, he said. He pointed out search and rescue organizations hold their fundraisers within the community, citing as examples the Sheet Harbour SAR fish derby and the Pictou County SAR raffle.
Seven years into an early onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Sandra Demontigny's home is full of reminders.
A blizzard gusting across southern Manitoba is leaving a long list of highway and school closures.
While a blizzard threatened outside, Saskatoon city council endured an icy blast inside city hall from a Riversdale business leader over its homeless initiatives.
This is a story about fire, faith and marshmallows.
Alberta’s population bucked the trend that almost every other Canadian province and territory experienced last quarter, Statistics Canada population estimates suggest.
A U.S. judge on Wednesday blocked Michigan from enforcing a 2020 order to shut down Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipeline running beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, ruling that pipeline safety is a federal responsibility.
When retired RCMP constable Jason Hydamacka heard the news that the insurance money for his amputated leg was coming, he sat in his truck and cried.
As Neskantaga First Nation’s youngest band councillor, Lashaunda Waswa says she wants to inspire the next generation to protect the community’s land, water and wildlife.
Toronto has seen a drop in crime rates across the city, but its police chief says youth crime rates continue to be a cause for concern.
Cambridge council has voted to request a pedestrian safety review of Cedar Street from the region after two back-to-back collisions last week, one of which killed a three-year-old girl.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation has received a $1-million donation to create an endowment fund that it will use to upgrade common areas at the Charlottetown hospital.
A new study by the Center for European Policy Analysis suggests Russia and China are pulling ahead of NATO nations, including Canada, in the race to develop and field drones capable of operating in harsh Arctic conditions.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says U.S. President Donald Trump hasn't given him any indication that he's willing to walk away from the North American free trade deal that was struck during his first term at the White House.