Dear Blake,
My friend’s house was severely damaged in a hurricane and she lost a lot of the contents. Mind you, she was one of the lucky ones. Others in her community lost everything. One of her friends started a GoFundMe account to help with repair costs, and it is now up to thousands of dollars.
My problem with this is: She’s now on her third trip to Europe this year. She constantly spends money, has thousands of dollars in credit card debt and tells me she’s broke. Granted, two of the trips were partly funded by her partner. Normally, she would post details about her trips on social media, but this time she’s not. Instead, she’s posting pictures of her house construction and implying that she’s there.
I’ve considered outing her on social media, but I decided against doing that. I just can’t get beyond what she’s doing and don’t think I can continue my friendship. Am I justified?
Signed, Valerie
From Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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Dear Valerie,
You are absolutely justified! She is committing fraud, so you should do everything to publicly embarrass her, and then get her locked up. Here are some ideas. Post one of her fun European vacation pictures on social media, and then say she said “I am enjoying a beautiful Paris, paid for by American suckers.” Or ask the question on her social media, “Your current scam turned out to be a great success! Do you still plan on getting donations from your upcoming con to fake a terminal illness?” Or maybe this idea. Spread a rumor that she is going to be arrested soon, and she allegedly said she’s not worried about, because she’ll just start GoFundMe legal defense account. And this last idea would stop her from doing this ever again. If she ever goes on a cruise, try to persuade the U.S. Navy to torpedo the ship because it is filled with people that plan conduct a sneak attack against the United States. But most importantly, as the ship is gradually slipping beneath the waves from the damage inflicted by one of our submarines, make sure your friend is the only person on the ocean liner that doesn’t have a life preserver. I hope this helps.
Blake