When a tragedy strikes or a campus organization is looking to pay for a big expense, GoFundMe is often the first place that people turn to raise money in a hurry.

However, while most people use it for charitable and altruistic purposes, some have used the service to scam people out of cash.

GoFundMe is a crowdfunding website which allows individuals to receive money for events such as special celebrations, college funds and even to pay medical bills for those with  serious life threatening illnesses. The site has collected more than $1 billion since its inception.

There are many categories to donate or list a cause for donations, including medical, volunteer, emergencies, education, memorials, sports and animals.

Several Akins students have used GoFundMe successfully to help pay for unexpected expenses.

“I started using it because we needed all the help we could get to raise the money to pay for my mom’s funeral,” senior Valerie Herrera said.

After posting and sharing on the GoFundMe website, Herrera raised about $7,000. She said it was extremely helpful during a difficult time in her life.

“I needed a way for my family and friends to contribute towards my trip to London, England for the All-American Cheerleaders to perform at the New Year’s Day Parade,” senior Aaliyah Leonard said. “It was a week long trip that allowed me the special opportunity to tour London and represent my school, family, and the U.S. in the parade.”

While most people do not experience problems with the service, ABC News reported the story of a man, Ken Wills who created a profile in Noah sick baby of the Knickerbocker family. Willis said he would help the family when he actually kept the money all to himself.

The Knickerbockers’ son Noah, 5-month-old had been waiting for a heart transplant for a significant amount of his life, so when Ken Wills, the godfather of Noah’s father offered to set up a GoFundMe page for him, they were grateful for the help.

“I went to check the dollar amount, and it told me that … this page no longer exists,” Rachel Knickerbocker said to ABC News. “Then, you know, my stomach dropped. So what does that mean?”

Wills tried to cover his tracks by posting three checks written to nearby hospitals on Facebook found by the Knickerbocker family and so they assumed where he got all that money from and concluded it was from the GoFundMe site. ABC News called the hospitals to check in for donations by Wills and they said they had received no such money and this led to loss of money and trust by the Knickerbocker family.

According to GoFundMe’s own safety section of its website, there is no way to guarantee that all of the donation drives it hosts are legitimate.

“Unfortunately there is no way to 100% guarantee that a user’s GoFundMe donation page contains accurate or truthful information. As such, donors should not make payments to any campaigns or people unless they fully understand and trust the cause presented,” states a post on the GoFundMe website.

Despite scams, Herrera said she still thinks people should consider using crowdfunding services if they do their research about the people requesting the financial support.

“It is a very easy and efficient way to raise money and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for help,” Herrera said.