It is known that malicious users often use current events to make money. However, they often go too far, publishing events that highlight the misery of others for their own benefit.
Security company Symantec is warning that a new spam campaign is being released that is trying to trick people into putting their hands in their pockets.
The fake emails are supposedly from the Red Cross and are titled “Crisis in Syria.” They contain text similar to the following:
"Good morning,
Every day, people from Syria are faced with death and destruction. More than 5.1 million people have fled their homes and moved to other cities as internal refugees, while 1.86 million people have fled to neighboring countries. 100,000 people have lost their lives to date.
Across the country, Red Cross volunteers and staff are risking their lives to provide aid to Syrians in need. However, as the situation worsens, people are in greater need of water, food, medical care and shelter.”
This part of the email has been copied from the British Red Cross website. However, the text below is starting to get a little “incomprehensible”.
Recipients of the email can visit the Red Cross website to make donations. However, for donations over £500 you can send the money via Western Union or Money Gram to the name Helen Paula.
Helen Paula's address is actually an address that we can find on the Red Cross website, but the email you listed for the money transfer is not a Red Cross email (helpsyriankids.redcross@london.com).
In fact, the Red Cross accepts donations via credit card or PayPal, not Western Union or Money Gram. The latter two payment methods are commonly used by scammers because they make it harder to track them down.
If you want to really help the people of Syria with your donation, you can do so from the official Red Cross website.
