Some people are taking advantage of the spreading fear of the Ebola virus in the U.S. as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns consumers about various Ebola-related scams and fraudulent fundraising calls.

The BBB received reports of fraudulent calls asking for monetary donations for Ebola patients, claiming to be part of the United Way in Bronx, New York City.

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After receiving reports of such phone calls, BBB Metro New York made an announcement that the charitable institution did not authorize such acts.

Several BBB branches all over the United States including BBB Wise Giving Alliance together with BBB Serving Greater Cleveland, BBB Serving Dallas and Northeast Texas, and others have taken the initiative to investigate said reports.

Meanwhile, reports revealed a fundraising online page at GoFundMe had been created on Wednesday to raise money for the treatment of Amber Joy Vinson, the second Dallas nurse who got infected with Ebola.

Vinson was reported to have travelled to and from Cleveland to arrange her wedding. She had been tested for the virus after returning to Dallas with a low-grade fever and is now being treated in a hospital in Atlanta.

GoFundMe is a site used by people to raise money from donations made via the worldwide web.

However, Vinson's family reported to the BBB that they had not authorized the creation of the page or any solicitation for donation for the third Ebola patient's treatment.

Upon confirming that the page is a fraud, it was immediately shut down.

As of October 19, over 100 other Ebola-related GoFundMe pages have been put under probe.

BBB's national office cautioned donors all over the U.S. regarding the donation scams and advised them to carefully probe into charitable efforts before engaging in any of them.

Those interested in making donations are advised to check out charities on BBB's charity reporting website, Give.Org, and confirm that the group claiming to provide charity actually has a tax-exempt status. 

TagsCharity, Fraud, Better Business Bureau, US, scam, scams, gofundme, Virus, outbreak