If you’re thinking about contributing to a crowdfunding campaign, take a minute to research the creator’s background and reviews before you pay.
Crowdfunding is one way to support a project you believe in and get rewards for that support. Here’s how crowdfunding works: People called “creators” ask for small amounts of money from lots of people to fund projects through websites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. In exchange, creators offer rewards to contributors, like a product that the creators are trying to make.
But the project you’re backing is only as good as the people behind it. Some dishonest people can take your money but produce nothing – no product, no project, and no reward.
The FTC says people shelled out over $800,000 via crowdfunding campaigns. The company said those funds would help it provide consumers with backpacks and shoulder bags with built-in batteries for charging mobile devices. But, according to the FTC, iBackPack’s claims that bags would soon be going out to consumers were lies.
What’s more, the FTC’s investigation found that the money the creators took in from their campaigns generally didn’t go toward what they said it would. Instead, the FTC says, iBackPack’s CEO pocketed a large part of the funds for his own personal use.
