out of curiosity, what does a spam ask look like?
Generally go fund me links, donation links, porn spam links, any sort of call to action for me/my followers. Some are more sophisticated than others.
This is your friendly reminder that you should not, under any circumstances, give money to online fundraisers you see on Tumblr. Even if they say they're "vetted" or "confirmed." These kinds of spam fundraisers prey upon people's desire to do good and help people in need. They are rarely real and you have no ability to verify where that money is actually going.
Some ways to spot a spam/fraudulent ask:
The account doesn't follow you or only recently followed you
There is a link, esp a weird looking link (link shortener, etc)
The CTA link isn't a gofundme or other typical donation site (but the presence of one by itself doesn't mean it's legit)
The account is not sending the ask via anon (interesting new trend; this is probably to "build" trust)
The account has all of the Tumblr badges/etc you can buy/add on
There is some sort of emotional component (guilt, fear, urgency) directed at you or followers
The ask comes immediately following one of your posts doing well, getting reblogs out of your normal circle, going "viral" etc
Obviously the advice above doesn't apply to people you actually know online, but I feel like it's very important to reiterate. These kinds of spam asks/scams work because people are actually sending money to them. They wouldn't keep asking if it didn't work.
Please consider critically what you are reblogging/asks you're answering before putting them out to the broader community.
Money can be a helpful tool for broader social issues or even a smaller local/community issue. But it's not the only one we have at our disposal. And not engaging on a social issue on Tumblr doesn't mean you don't have the potential to help/do work in the rest of your life.
