We've passed the £20,000 milestone way earlier than we thought possible (thank you, again, to everyone who's helped us get here) and thanks to a front page story in the Bournemouth Daily Echo we've managed to expose the fraudsters who have been using Elliot's details and photos fraudulently to raise money:
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/10906670.Web_of_lies__fundraising_campaign_for_six_year_old_with_cerebral_palsy_is_hijacked_by_online_fraudsters/Thankfully this has not affected our Just Giving fundraising site, and from looking at the fake sites we are sure that none of our supporters have been duped. The fraudsters have been setting up their own independent sites in order to try and get money from unsuspecting victims in the U.S. and here at home.
So we're safe, and our supporters are, as long as only www.justgiving.com/OperationElliot is used for donations.
In the meantime, the police are aware of what's going on. We're glad that we have been able to expose what's happened and raise awareness, as well as generate some more press interest for our campaign from TV and Radio as a result (watch this space!).
We're very excited about the year ahead. We intend to keep the cheats in check and get ever closer to our fundraising target.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2014,
from all at Operation Elliot.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-25632204 for the South Today piece
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