Beware online scams about student killed at Howard High

As social media and online crowdfunding have become a part of everyday life, it’s also a sinister opportunity for crooks.
Last week, Howard High School student Amy Joyner-Francis was attacked in a school bathroom and later died of her injuries.
WHYY’s NewsWorks reported that a bogus GoFundMe page using Joyner-Francis’ picture had surfaced, and her family has issued a public statement warning people not to donate to online pages where donation-seekers claim to be relatives.
Here’s what her brother, Anthony Joyner, said in a release from the Wilmington Police Department:

We are seeing many sick people out in the world who want to gain money and social fame off my family’s loss of Amy. We want everyone who is truly concerned for us not to fall victim to the scams going on out around the Internet. I am the only one on social media, any other family (her mother, father, or brothers) do not have accounts. She does not have a sister as someone is claiming to be. All others will be fake. We have not set up and will not set up any fundraisers or go fund me accounts, they are fake pages and accounts are spreading hateful lies, so please do not lose your money or entertain the lies of these cruel people.

He added that people who do want to make donations in her name can do so to the Congo Funeral Home in Wilmington.
Wilmington City Council member Sherry Dorsey Walker told NewsWorks that people should have more respect for a grieving family. “Please understand that there is a loving family who is hurting after such a tragic loss,” she said. “Please be respectful of the family and not use their loved one’s passing as an opportunity for capital gain.”