Mutual aid spam is becoming a problem on the Fediverse.
And to be sure, I’m not against mutual aid. What I am against is spam.
This person has not verified who she is – or even if the profile picture is hers. Additional research on her name states she is a scammer with a record of grifting. I am therefore skeptical that any donations will help anyone in need.
Folks, please be cautious with mutual aid requests. Yes, people sometimes need help. But people also lie.
I mean, I know phones can be cheap or donated. And I also know that homeless people may have possessions that some consider “expensive”. It’s not that uncommon.
But constant internet connection needs monthly payments that, in my very personal and particular mindset, are not really compatible with “I’m a beggar. I need help”.
Having knowledge of the Fediverse it’s too niche for me, and the stories like “I can’t pay groceries!” almost every week are unlikely in a place where most of folks are tech workers. My spam-meter says that probably some people out there found the #mutualaid hashtag and are making some fake profiles and fake stories.
Again, the phone and the service, at least, when I was homeless in 2019, was covered along with other social services such as SNAP and Medicaid.
And again, I completely agree about not handing money out online. Just disagreeing about homeless folks having accessibility to a phone or the internet. And Public libraries or anywhere with wifi (if you have a phone) are other options.
The plans can be super cheap compared to food and housing. A pretty poor person can still have consistent Internet now.
It’s not the affordability that makes these things almost certainly a scam, but they pretty much are almost certainly a scam anyway.
you can find plans for $15/mo. it’s not unreasonable for homeless people today to have a cell phone. even homies in prison have tiktoks.