In-Depth Series on Internet Panhandling: The Beccah Beushausen Sick Child Scam

There isn't much that pulls at heartstrings more than a child unless it's a child in need. Children suffering from illness can bring even the stoic amongst us to shed a tear, especially when we are someone connected to that child. Mothers, especially single moms, have a long road to walk with a sick child.

In 1994, my son was born, premature, but healthy for the most part. He was born in July, and by October, my then seven-year-old daughter was in need of surgery--four of them, to be exact--to repair a genetic hip disorder. It was a tough time for me. We moved to a large city to be closer to the hospital where her surgeries would be performed, and I was a single mom who had just finished college and moved far away from home in a place where I knew no one.

If Not For the Kindness of Strangers

We wouldn't have managed through that mess if not for people who were generous, whether it was with buying a meal at the cafeteria for me or sitting up with me late at night when I was at the hospital while my daughter slept so I wouldn't go insane. Charity at its finest is when people give to others in true need (and hopefully temporary need) out of the sheer kindness and generosity of their hearts, and then the person who receives the charity will, one day, pay it forward to someone else in need.

I paid if forward by going into a caring, healing and helping profession, where I assisted others going through hard times in their lives, people seeking a hand up and not a hand out. I believe people are, by nature, caring and generous and giving and that most people are honest and decent. It is that strength in human beings that gets preyed upon by those who seek to take advantage of others.

Beccah Beushausen and the Unborn Sick Baby Scam

What really sent me on the path of writing about internet panhandling, though I've been thinking about it for awhile, was the story about Beccah Beushausen. According to the Chicago Tribune, in an interview with Beushausen, this 26-year-old woman started a blog several months ago, announcing on the blog she was pregnant. Shortly after, she announced that through ultrasound and amniocentesis it had been discovered her unborn baby had two genetic disorders, both of them more than likely facially disfiguring disorders, and one of them was Trisomy 13.

The blog soon became a huge hit, as Beushausen announced she was pro-life and did not intend to abort the child, even though the conditions the child was diagnosed with would surely lead to the death of the child before birth or shortly thereafter.

Ms. Beushausen continued blogging, updating her readership about the progress of the pregnancy, and promoting the blog heavily, even adding monetization to the blog in the form of pay-per-click and pay-per-view advertising, as well as what seems to be some affiliate-type links as well. With the help of other prominent mommy-bloggers, Beushausen's readership soon grew to thousands.

On the day the baby was supposed to have been born, a friend of Beushausen was said to be in contact with another blogger who was blogging for Beushausen while she was in labor and having a home deliver. Yes, a home delivery with a child with severe physical disorders AND there was active blogging. I don't know, but for me, when giving birth to a baby that might die soon after birth, I don't think I would be thinking about blogging as my first priority.

Something was fishy.

Blogosphere in an Uproar over Fake Baby Doll

Eventually, it was announced that 'April Rose', Beushausen's daughter, was born alive and pictures would be forthcoming. Several other blogs, through this experience, were already calling 'foul' on this story, but the 'birth blog' of Beccah Beushausen had already passed one million page views in less than a day.

When the picture of the baby was posted, the truth of the story was revealed... the 'baby' was a reborn doll, known to the reborn community as the 'Avery reborn kit'. If you've never seen the reborn dolls, take the time to do a Google search and look at the pictures. Some of these dolls are realistic enough, you'd never know from a picture they weren't real babies. While some people find them a bit creepy, they are quite realistic looking.

Still, Beushausen's friend continued posting, saying the baby's heart rate was failing, and a pediatrician was coming to the house. Later, the baby and mother were blogged to have gone to the hospital. In a very short-lived post, it was reported the baby had died, but then almost as fast as the post went up, it was taken down.

Once the news of the 'fake baby' was revealed and photos of the Avery kit reborn doll were matched to the photos posted of the April Rose baby Beushausen was said to have birthed, bloggers began questioning things.
The baby was perfectly formed, plump and healthy looking. Beushausen tried to keep up with this, first locking comments so only registered users could comment, setting the comments for moderation, and then posted that the baby's father and her new boyfriend (who was later revealed to not exist), was removing blog posts so they weren't being attacked at this difficult time in their lives.

Scam, Fraud, Money Involved?

It is unclear at this time how much money Beccah Beushausen received for this scam. She has since confessed to several news agencies and even posted her own "I'm sorry" blog on her old blog apologizing for the scam, claiming she made no money at all from this. (http://littleoneapril.blogspot.com/)

However, the blogosphere is not so sure about that. Beushausen did have advertising on her blog (though one of the main sources did indicate they would not be paying out to her, others might have), and it has been reported by several bloggers that they personally sent money, gift cards and gifts to Beushausen to a P.O. Box she had specifically set up AND posted on her blog sidebar. There had even been a t-shirt fundraiser to earn money for and raise awareness about birth defects, in particular the one little April Rose was supposed to be dying from.

Why would she post the P.O. Box on her blog sidebar unless she intended to receive something in the mail? Money, gifts, doesn't matter - how many ordinary non-business bloggers actually put up a post office box number on their blogs unless they are wanting someone to send them something? Most bloggers I know go to lengths to protect their identity and mailing address and location, not advertising it on the sidebar of the blog.

Is This Internet Panhandling Scam Illegal?

It's hard to tell if a crime was committed with the Beushausen case. Did Beccah receive money? If she did, and it was under false pretenses, does that constitute fraud? Could it be mail fraud, since she opened a P.O. Box to receive the donations and gifts? Did she ever get money via PayPal, and if so, can they shut down her account and investigate?

There are a lot of unanswered questions, because it's impossible for the laws to keep up with the ever-changing, quickly-changing internet and the scams new scammers and panhandlers will come up with for scamming on the internet.

Beushausen's Statement

To be fair, I must indicate here that Beushausen has denied receiving any donations of cash and has listed a small list of a few baby items she received and has stated she will donate these to charity. Anyone who writes on a blog that is monetized though, think about what would happen if you could get thousands of readers and over a million page views in just one day. Do you really think she only received a few trinkets in donations when her address was posted on the blog?

Internet Panhandling a Far Cry from Panhandling on the Street

You know, panhandling on the street is not that easy. It is degrading, or at least, it would be for me. It's often hot or cold, you're exposed to the elements, and you're having to meet people face to face and look them in the eye.

Internet panhandling, though, is done from the safety, comfort and convenience of your own home. Seems to me, if a person has a computer, internet connection, a home and electricity -- all things required to be on the internet -- they aren't doing so badly that they can't overcome. I've actually, in my past, been broke enough I couldn't afford a phone, or a computer, or internet connections. You never have to see the person you ask for help from. It's not quite the same situation as someone who is truly homeless.

The problem with internet panhandling is, you have no idea what the true situation of the person is. Imagine a person who sits home all day, writing multiple blog posts on multiple blogs with multiple identities, and every blog is asking for help with a sick child, a sick animal, a sick relative, or they are sick themselves. Quite a good source of income there, without doing much of anything except writing fiction blog posts.

In the next article on internet panhandling, we'll talk about some other online panhandling scams and how they have played out, and also discuss how to protect yourself and tell the fact from the fiction and the truth from the lies.

If you missed the first article in this series, you can read it here.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1853305/indepth_series_on_internet_panhandling.html