“I decided that if I could do a collaboration with ‘Sarah’, adding my digital art to the existing photos, I could make prints and gift cards available as a special edition. This would hopefully attract interest to her cause and make up the money she was requesting,” Dawe said.
Hundreds of cards and prints were made up and sold through a Melbourne art shop, each bearing the signatures of Dawe and the woman claiming to be Murtaja. He even created a Vimeo video to promote their venture.
Dawe arranged for hundreds of cards and prints to be made up and sold through a Melbourne art shop, each bearing the signatures of Dawe and the woman claiming to be Murtaja.
“Having reached more than the amount required – friends also donated to ‘The Gaza Project’ not asking for prints or cards – I was ready to forward the money to the PayPal account,” Dawe said.
But on the day he was due to transfer the funds — about $3000 — Dawe learned from an article posted on Facebook that PayPal did not operate in Gaza.
“Naturally, a very loud bell rang,” the 74-year-old said.
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Dawe then did a reverse Google search of the photographs sent by Murtaja and discovered they had been appropriated from Palestinian newspapers or international photography agencies.
After realising he had been duped, Dawe contacted customers and offered refunds, while also notifying several publications that their images had been stolen.
A cybersecurity expert based in Adelaide confirmed in October that…
