article: The family of a North Carolina toddler who drowned in a pool last week went to set up an online fundraiser to help them with his funeral costs, only to discover that scammers have beat them to the punch. Four-year-old Austin West passed away last Saturday after he slipped while chasing a bumblebee in the backyard and fell into an in-ground pool at his family's home in Gastonia. Austin’s grandfather, Jeff West, says that when he attempted to launch a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to cover his grandson’s final expenses, he was shocked to find that there were already multiple pages carrying the deceased boy's name on the site. Family tragedy: Austin West, 4, pictured left and right with his mother, drowned in a pool April 6 while chasing a bumblebee in the yard . Preying on the weak: When the toddler's family went to set up a GoFundMe account to help raise money towards the funeral, they have discovered several unsanctioned fundraisers. This screen shot shows the real page set up by the Wests . ‘We had a big setback when phony GoFundMe accounts were set up before I made one, so I don't know just how many donated to these scams before the real GoFundMe page got set up,’ Mr West lamented to the station WBTV. ‘What people will do to make a buck off of a child.’ The fake fundraisers have since been deleted from GoFundMe.com, but West says the family are still in desperate financial straits and are in urgent need of donations. On Thursday, Austin's grandfather set up a genuine donation page hoping to collect $10,000. As of Friday evening, only $315 has been raised. A spokesperson for GoFundMe said in a statement that the company investigates every complaint of fraud it receives. Accident: Jeff West said his grandson had been taught how to swim young, but the shock of falling into cold water, combined with the boy's chronic asthma, caused Austin to go under . The West family are hoping to raise $10,000 to cover the toddler's funeral costs and related expenses . ‘In the rare event that we do find fraudulent activity on an account, we have the power to remove the account, refund donors, and ban the user from ever signing up again,’ the statement read. In the description of Jeff West’s campaign, he explains that his 4-year-old grandson, who used to call him 'Paw Paw,' had been taught how to swim young, but the shock of falling into cold water, combined with the boy's chronic asthma, caused Austin to go under. The West family also have started another campaign on Booster.com selling cotton T-shirts with Austin’s picture for $15 each to raise additional funds. The West family also have started another campaign on Booster.com selling cotton T-shirts with Austin’s picture .
highlights: Austin West, 4, slipped and fell into backyard pool in North Carolina April 6 .
  Several fake fundraisers sprang up after Austin's death to collect money .
  The bogus GoFundMe pages created in Austin's name have since been removed .
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