DURBAN - A fake Facebook Black Lives Matter page collected at least $100 000 that apparently went to Black Lives Matter causes in the United States.
However, some the money may also have been wired to Australian bank accounts.
This fake Facebook page had nearly 700 000 followers, which is more than twice the number of the official Black Lives Matter page. The official page for Black Lives Matter has about 320 000 followers.
The fake Facebook page was selling Black Lives Matter merchandise like Black Lives Matter T-shirts for $24 (R289,44), shirts for $22,50 (R271,35) and mugs for $25 (R301,50).
The page has been in existence for over a year.
Black Lives Matter is an international activist organisation that originated in the African-American community. The organisation campaigns against the violent and systematic racism towards black people.
Now fundraising campaigns that were linked to the Facebook page like Paypal have been suspended.
The uncovering of this fake Facebook page has resulted in questions being raised about the integrity of Facebook and the content on the social networking site.
According to the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Patrisse Cullors, Facebook was informed of concerns regarding the page. He said that he suspected that it was a scam and contacted Facebook months ago.
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Black Lives Matter is known to have drawn in a lot of financial support. Celebrities like Jay Z and The Weeknd have donated to the cause.
In a statement from the official Black Lives Matter page, BLM said that they regret that so many people were deceived by the Facebook scam in to think that their gifts and donations were benefiting BLM.
The page is currently being connected to websites linked to Ian Mackay, an official for the National Union of Workers in Australia.
Mackay has registered a number of websites, many on issues that related to black rights.
When questioned on his links to the pages, Mackay did not provide answers and said that buying and selling domain names is his hobby.
CNN uncovered the story after they reviewed the page and connected accounts.