Cybercriminals are once again taking advantage of the global situation, trying to profit from human tragedy. Fake fundraisers have appeared online, allegedly for the families of victims of Israel’s war against the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Experts warn against fraud. Cybercriminals ask for donations
He warns against fake collections on the Internet, among others. US Federal Trade Commission. Similar fraud attempts were also detected a few days ago by, among others, website, which found posts on X (Twitter), Telegram and Instagram in which fraudsters impersonate, for example, charitable organizations. Researchers also noticed over 500 emails encouraging people to use fake fundraisers. Fraudsters usually ask for donations via hard-to-trace cryptocurrencies and include suspicious cryptocurrency wallet addresses in the messages, the website writes.
“Cybercriminals, as usual, take advantage of tragedies to profit, using insidious methods that, unfortunately, turn out to be extremely effective. Frauds related to fake collections are based on manipulating our emotions, encouraging us to donate funds without thoroughly verifying the credibility of the collection. Moving photos and stories lull our vigilance. There are many real collections circulating on the Internet, and fraudsters are extremely skillful at copying them,” writes Kamil Sadkowski, an analyst at the ESET anti-virus laboratory.
Such fake fundraisers for the injured and victims’ families have appeared many times in recent years. People warned against mini-measures, among others. shortly after the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022 and after the tragic earthquake in Turkey in February this year.
As ESET experts advise, before paying donations to victims of wars or natural disasters, it is worth carefully checking the organization that organizes the collection or using the help of organizations we already know. It is also better to avoid private collections, because they are difficult to verify, and to pay attention to the small number of followers of a given collection and possible linguistic errors in the text. Specialists also add that aid organizations do not encourage donations using cryptocurrencies. If we see a request to send virtual coins, a red light should immediately light up.
Source: Gazeta
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