A fundraising website claiming to be collecting money for the funeral of an Aberdeen 23-year-old has been removed from the internet after prompting a flurry of complaints.
The page, on Go Get Funding, gave the impression it was set up by a grieving relative of Neomi Smith.
Miss Smith died on Saturday June 7 after an incident in Brechin’s Swan Street, and 23-year-old Keith Rizzo has been charged with her murder.
The bogus page, with a picture of Miss Smith on it, had a message intended to dupe well-wishers.
Go Get Funding said it would help those who might have donated money to retrieve the cash.
One Facebook user posted to warn the page was a scam and said Miss Smith’s family had made no plea to help raise money for the funeral, nor would they.
The woman said: “Under no circumstances donate to these pages. It is a scam and there will be no fundraising page of any kind created by the family.”
Police confirmed that officers have been notified about the page but, as it has since been removed, at this stage there would be no further action taken.
A spokeswoman for Go Get Funding said: “We have a number of measures in place to try to minimise such campaigns appearing on our site, but it is incredibly difficult to identify all fake campaigns.”
Keith Rizzo appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court last Tuesday charged with murder.
He made no plea and is due to appear again next week.