Crime & Safety

Police: Scammers Pose as Fundraisers for Local Cancer Charity, Collect 'Donations'

The scammers went so far as to use a photo of a teen who lost her battle with cancer in 2007 on fliers they handed out as they went door-to-door in a Fox River Grove neighborhood.

Police are looking for information on a group of scammers who claimed to be raising funds for a local charity when they went to door-to-door in a Fox River Grove neighborhood earlier this month soliciting money. 

The scammers who claimed to be a part of the Crystal Lake-based Andrew Lynn Cancer Fund went so far as to use a picture of Katie Smith, a teen who lost her battle with cancer, on their fliers, according to a Fox River Grove Police Department press release. 

The picture was apparently downloaded from the Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund website, and was from a fund-raising event that took place several years ago — before the girl died in 2007. 

The Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund does not conduct door-to-door donation campaigns and is not affiliated with the group seeking donations in Fox River Grove this June., police said. The non-profit organization aims to help ease the burden of families that have been financially and emotionally exhausted in their fight against cancer. 

The scammers did manage to collect several donations as they pretended to be a part of the Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund. ]

“It saddens me that people would use the good work that our organization does, and misrepresent it for their own personal gain,” said Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund President Brent Beckwith. “It is unfortunate that people who were willing to make a donation to our cause were taken in by this scam.” 

If you were a victim of this crime or have information about the person or group of people falsely claiming they were soliciting donations for the Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund can contact the Fox River Grove Police Department at (847) 639-2411, e-mail m.miller@foxrivergrove.org or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-762-7867 (STOP).


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