CINCINNATI — A new possible scam has hit the Tri-State, pulling at people’s heartstrings, and prompting them to empty their wallets.
Hundreds of people have commented in Westside and Delhi Township neighborhood Facebook groups about people holding a sign about a child's funeral. The sign says “11-years-old, died-in-an-Car-Accident, Please-any-help, God-Bless.”
Dylan Satzger drove by a group of six to eight men and women holding up a sign like the one described above over the weekend.
"I was going down Anderson Ferry on a way to pick up a junk removal job, and I seen this sign with the little boy’s face on it," he said. "I’m like man that’s so sad, so I waved to the guy, waved out the window, and I gave him $5."
Several people commented on Facebook posts that they too stopped to give these people money. Satzger said he wanted to help because he’s recently lost a loved one.
“I lost my uncle. We’re mid-working class, but a funeral is expensive, so, you know, in that mindset, my first response was just to help,” he said.
He later saw on a Facebook group that this was a possible scam.
“It really made me feel betrayed that someone would do something that serious and that gut-twisting against people like that,” Satzger said.
Delhi Township police said they are aware of these incidents but cannot confirm it’s a scam. They are also aware of people holding signs like the ones spotted on the Westside in other states. They’re encouraging people to be cautious when they see signs like these.
Satzger said the sign looked legit. He also wanted to help people in need.
"You don’t know what their situation is, they’re obviously asking for help, so why not help them," he said. "It had a picture of somebody on there, and I was thinking you know, it must not be a scam if there’s a picture of a little boy on there, so then you're like well whose the little boy from the picture."
He hopes his story will encourage other people to be more careful when donating to a charity if they want to help people in need.
“It’s sad someone can use something that serious against people … was it worth the trade-off of scamming somebody for the money you took?” he said.
WCPO 9 reverse-searched the image on Google to see where the picture of the child came from but couldn’t find anything.
The Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office said they are not able to comment on this incident at the moment because they don't have the facts to make a conclusive statement.
