Why don’t crowdfunding platforms do more checks on project creators?

As anyone who has read my investigation into what’s happening with LightFreq’s crowdfunding campaigns will know, when you back a project, you’re not always guaranteed to get what you expected.

If you haven’t read it, go and do that now.

Shortly after I published that, a reader got in touch to point out that Devon also defaulted on his home before the Kickstarter campaign.  This Zillow listing shows some of the interiors seen in the LightFreq demo videos, too.

How the videos were shot there after the default, I’m not sure. The ongoing sale didn’t take place until more than a year later, though.

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However that happened, the point to me is that a cursory credit check would have flagged this default for either Kickstarter or Indiegogo before the campaigns were set in motion. Why didn’t this happen? Were checks carried out, but further red flags weren’t raised for investigation?

If crowdfunding platforms, which make their living from successful campaigns, can’t create an atmosphere of trust, then backers will begin to lose faith in all but the surest bets.

That would be a shame for a lot of genuine creators whose ideas would never see the light of day.

It would also ultimately be bad for the platforms: fewer successful projects mean lower revenues.

Naturally, I’ve asked Indiegogo and Kickstarter whether they carry out any sort of financial background history or credit checks prior to approving campaign organizers but am yet to get a response from either company.

Whatever the answer, that clearly didn’t happen in the case of LightFreq and due to a total lack of communication from the founder, it doesn’t look like any of the backers will be getting their app-controlled musical lightbulbs any time soon.

I’ll update this article if Indiegogo or Kickstarter supply a comment.