Crowdfunding campaigns are becoming the Brooklyn Bridge schemes of the 21st century, with Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns for fake products launching in the hopes of being funded quickly enough that the scammer can make off with the loot before getting caught. Fortunately, when such campaigns are discovered shortly after their launch, the crowdfunding sites can cancel them and refund the marks their money. Some con artists are audacious enough to use existing products to defraud the public, including a KS scammer who used photos from the NEA 3D campaign with text from the TIKO 3D campaign to concoct a low-price 3D printer fraud. Christopher Donovan, a former employee of China’s Zhuhai CTC Electronic Co., went a step further, falsely selling his ex-employer’s own product on Kickstarter, though he no longer worked for CTC.
Two weeks ago, we reported on the launch of the KS campaign for the $999 4-1 Formaker fabricator – capable of 3D printing, CNC milling, laser engraving, and PCB etching – which, in just six days, raised $42,000, 80% of its goal. CTC, however, claims that the campaign, but not the product, was fraudulent starting by Donovan, a US-based employee who was hired to authenticate projects on Kickstarter for CTC, as the crowdfunding site does not allow campaigns to be launched from China. He actually launched not one, but two campaigns before having both cancelled. The Formaker is a real device, the company says, and CTC plans to negotiate with Kickstarter to launch an authentic campaign or sell the product through another outlet.
CTC Electronic PR manager Yoyo Hee said in a statement, “The dismissal of Mr. Donovan is expected to have no impact on the development process of the product as he was not part of the technology team of the Formaker project. CTC is pulling out all the stops to advance the process while upgrading the optical output power of the Formaker’s laser cutter to over one watt from the previous 350 milliwatts at the request of backers. Backers will be entitled to buy the printer at the original price in return for their continued support if and when the project is either re-launched on the platform or developed successfully through another channel.”
CTC, which has been developing a wide range of 3D printers, may be working on a new method for releasing the Formaker, but Donovan has already got another scam going to rip-off consumers via a fraudulent site called CTC3D USA, which is currently “selling” the Formaker. Don’t be mistaken, however, this is not a legitimate CTC site and any real updates to the Formaker project will only be seen on CTCprint.com.
