KickstarterForum.org

Online crowdfunding is a pretty new phenomenon. I think it's safe to say that all the kinks haven't been worked out of the process. Companies, such as Kickstarter, which cater to the crowdfunding community currently have no interest in vetting project creators or providing a safety net for project backers. Almost anyone can create a project online to solicit contributors and receive large sums of money with little or no oversight. It's a temping arena for those wishing to make a quick buck with no intention of delivery.

While there are many examples of unscrupulous project creators running away with funds, there are also many examples of backers banding together to research and unmask individuals prior to final funding. This area of the Kickstarter Forum is mean to facilitate this process. It's a place for open discussions of concerns and sharing of discoveries.

Yes, I agree and it's unfortunate when backers or creators are taken advantage of. Hopefully, we can help spread awareness about scams or fraud happening on the platform.

I have been researching the smARtMAKER scheme for about a year and according to the Forbes fella I have been speaking with, what I found may be huge in terms of impact to crowdfunding. I am waiting for his independent research to corroborate or disprove my findings; I have a few other cases I started diving into, but not as deep as smARtMAKER.

There is a a previously unnoticed wolf in sheeps clothing on crowdfunding sites and it may just have been staring us all in the face for a long time

There needs to be some sort of vetting process and crowdfunding sites need to be held accountable for at minimum enforcing their own basic eligibility requirements instead of leaving backers in the wind

KickSucker2013 wrote:There needs to be some sort of vetting process and crowdfunding sites need to be held accountable for at minimum enforcing their own basic eligibility requirements instead of leaving backers in the wind

I couldn't agree with you more!

How can we leverage our skills to create a process? I have a pretty good set of skills that I am willing to bring to the table

KickSucker2013 wrote:How can we leverage our skills to create a process? I have a pretty good set of skills that I am willing to bring to the table

That sounds great. Have you visited: VaporStarter.com? I've started a list of projects in trouble as well as in-depth articles. My original concept included steps to identify scams preemptively, however getting people to research projects before they back seems to be a hurdle.

@kicksucker Thanks for joining the conversation! We agree that there needs to be more transparency and that a watchdog service is needed in the community. I'm happy to market/promote and discovered stories through CrowdfundingPR, crowdcrux socal channels, and contacting news reporters in the crowdfunding community.