BBB warns of Ebola scams

By Sheryl Harris

Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND

It didn’t take long for scammers to find a way to get funds from the Ebola scare.

The Better Business Bureau of Cleveland issued a warning today about a crowd-funding site that purported to be collecting on behalf of Ebola victim Amber Joy Vinson, the Dallas nurse who showed signs of the disease shortly after returning home from a visit to Northeast Ohio area.

A relative of Vinson’s told the BBB the fundraising appeal at gofundme.com was not sanctioned by Vinson or her family.

Shortly after the BBB inquired about the appeal, it was removed from the site.

The appeal had been shared hundreds of times on Facebook and may have raised more than $600 before it was yanked.