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People are not always what they seem, but instances of outright fraud on Givealittle are "very, very rare'', a spokeswoman says.
The site had raised $45.5 million since 2012, but the number of people being caught making false claims remained low, at "two or three a year'', Givealittle communications manager Lucy Fullarton said.
That included an Auckland woman who last year admitted multiple fraud charges after pretending to have cancer and raising more than $26,000 though Givealittle and other charities.
This week, she was sentenced to community detention and supervision and required to pay $14,200 reparation.
Ms Fullarton said Givealittle was a "neutral platform'' that ultimately left people to choose what they gave money to.
Every page was moderated by staff who were "making a judgement'' about its transparency, she said.
That included asking for more information if needed, but prying too deeply could be "tricky'' when such checks ran into privacy rules, she said.
Beyond that, users had two safeguards - they could report pages that appeared suspect, or ask questions of the campaign directly, she said.
It was "extremely rare'' for people to make false claims, but people with no connection to the cause should "have a good look at the page'' before deciding to donate, Ms Fullarton said.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time, people are completely open and transparent and honest about it.''
