A donor has fallen victim to a scam after paying a pledge intended for the One Economy Foundation’s fundraising gala into an account that does not belong to the foundation.
One Economy Foundation executive director Pauline Kahupi says this in a media statement released on Tuesday.
“The payment was made in response to a fraudulent invoice sent from the email address (geingosmonika@gmail.com), by a person impersonating the foundation’s chairperson, Monica Geingos,” Kahupi says.
She says the foundation acted quickly to have the fraudulent account suspended before the full amount could be withdrawn.
“We are treating the matter with urgency and working with the relevant authorities to bring the culprits to book,” Kahupi says.
The warning comes as the foundation prepares for its 11th annual fundraising soiree on 1 October.
Kahupi urges the public to remain vigilant, saying fraudsters continue to find new ways to exploit public trust.
She cautions donors, partners and the public not to respond to correspondence from or make payments to the fraudulent email addresses identified by the foundation.
She says official correspondence relating to the fundraising soiree should only be conducted through onefundraiser@leconomy.org or fd@1economy.org.
She says people who are uncertain about whether a communication is legitimate should contact the foundation directly through its official communication channels.
“One Economy Foundation takes the security and integrity of our stakeholders seriously and apologises for any inconvenience this fraudulent activity has caused,” Kahupi says.
She encourages anyone with information relating to the scam to come forward.
