An online donations website is defending its registration and vetting processes after a page was linked to fraud allegations.
A 23-year-old South Auckland woman appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday on four charges relating to obtaining thousands of dollars in public donations via her page on Givealittle.co.nz.
The founder of Givealittle, Nathalie Whitaker, said it would be impossible to authenticate every new page, as 800 new ones are set up each month.
She said the self-regulating, highly transparent nature of the website has worked perfectly for the past seven years.
Ms Whitaker said complaints about authenticity of a cause are very rare, as usually they are about the worthiness of a cause.
The 23-year-old woman, whose name is suppressed, is due to reappear in court on 4 November.
