A Michigan father of four who was the attempted victim of a a social media prank received an unexpected outpouring of support, with viewers raising more than $400,000 through an online fundraiser.
Here's what to know
A content creator approached a Red Baron worker in White Lake as he restocked frozen goods, according to CBS News.
The creator asked the man what the time was to get him to check his phone, and then pretended to swipe it with his own phone and played an Apple Pay audio cue in an attempt to make the worker think he had lost money to a scam.
"I don't have time for this. My life is hard enough as it is," the father said in the video, unimpressed by the prank.
Other strangers had also been led to believe their money had been taken when the creator played the same sound, according to CBS News.
As the video circulated, viewers sided with the worker rather than the prankster. The creator's account has since been deactivated.
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What's being done?
Over two days, thousands donated to a fundraiser for the father in amounts ranging from $10 to $30,000, CBS News reported.
The fundraiser had surpassed $400,000 at the time of CBS News' report. Its goal was raised to $700,000.
The outpouring of support followed the worker's disclosure that he was struggling to cover his family's housing costs. In the video, he contrasted those difficulties with the possibility that the creator could profit from the encounter.
"You're probably making money off this," he said, "I can't pay my mortgage, and I got four kids at home."
Where can I learn more?
These stories cover other instances of community fundraising.
• GoFundMe removed a $290,000 Texas fundraiser after its organizer admitted she was the couple's daughter.
• Kansas inmates raised more than $4,000 after learning children owed $6,000 in school lunch debt.
• A stranger sent $50 through Apple Cash, then invoked a child's basketball in a plea.
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