Public warned of Natalie Christopher crowdfunding scam

Police on Friday urged members of the public to be cautious as regards a crowdfunding initiative to collect money for the funeral expenses of 35-year-old Natalie Christopher who was found dead last Wednesday on the island of Ikaria in Greece, after receiving a report it was a scam.

The electronic crime unit said it was investigating a report concerning forgery after being alerted by an individual that someone launched a crowdfunding using her name calling for donations for the funeral expenses of Christopher.

Police said that the initiative in question was a scam and urged the public not to donate any money.

The police announcement follows a warning on Thursday by CyBC radio producer Saskia Constantinou who said someone had used her name and a photo she had taken with Christopher “to start a so-called Funeral Fund”.

“This is totally illegal and has not been initiated by me. I have reported to the relevant authorities and will prosecute to the full extent of the law for those responsible,” she said on Facebook.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.