Scammers are taking advantage of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Turkey and Syria and this time they are stealing donations for earthquake victims.
This week, Turkey and Syria were rocked by a series of devastating earthquakes that caused unprecedented devastation. Over 15,000 innocent people have lost their lives (the death toll is constantly rising), while extensive damage was caused to infrastructure and communication networks.
As government, corporate, and charitable organizations join forces to help the victims of this tragedy, malicious actors seek to exploit unsuspecting donors.
Scam abuses PayPal.com
Scammers are taking advantage of well-intentioned donors who want to support earthquake victims by creating convincing scam websites and using legitimate platforms, such as PayPal fundraising pages, to collect money. According to BleepingComputer, multiple scams have been spotted running on Twitter.
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One of the scams, for example, advertises itself as a fundraiser for “Turkey Earthquake Relief” on Twitter. To lend some credibility, the account posts updates from established media outlets and government officials:
However, notice the PayPal link in this account's bio. That's the ultimate lure—to drive donors to the real PayPal.com website that hosts a fundraising page:
The fraudulent Twitter account has been taken down, but the PayPal fundraising page is still active.
According to BleepingComputer, the PayPal fundraiser had raised a total of $900 in donations, while the creator contributed an additional $500 for added authenticity.
BleepingComputer took action and reported this fundraiser to PayPal.
Such scams are particularly effective because they use a trusted payment platform, such as PayPal, rather than a separate scam domain or phishing. Furthermore, it is difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake fundraisers, as anyone can set up an online fundraiser with supposedly good intentions – although its legitimacy remains questionable.
With so many PayPal fundraisers for the current cause, it can be difficult to discern which ones are truly legitimate.
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In some cases, we have observed individual Twitter users providing their own PayPal.me links and implying that they are raising money for a meaningful cause.
Some careful observers have noted that PayPal has been out of business in Turkey since at least 2016. As a result, it’s important to be wary of Twitter accounts with Turkish-sounding names claiming to be based in Turkey while urging people to donate via PayPal. However, it’s important to remember that legitimate charities operating outside of Turkey may rely on popular payment platforms like PayPal and Venmo for genuine fundraising efforts.
Twitter feeds flooded with potentially fraudulent crypto addresses
In a separate scam incident, Bleepingcomputer spotted scammers exploiting Twitter by sending numerous replies containing their illicit Bitcoin and crypto wallet addresses.
To maximize the reach of the scam, the malicious actor behind such a Twitter account strategically replies to tweets from well-known public figures and high-profile companies, such as Elon Musk or @DogeCoin. In these replies, they publish the crypto address in the hopes of defrauding donors who are unaware that it is not legitimate.
Be careful of fake charity emails and websites – they are more common than you might think.
Adding to Turkey's ongoing crisis, malicious actors have taken advantage of the situation and created fake charities. With all these scams already underway, it is more important than ever for people to be careful when donating money to a good cause.
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According to a Bitdefender report this week, malicious actors are sending phishing emails that appear to come from charities of dubious origin.
In these emails, recipients are asked to contribute funds in the form of cryptocurrency to anonymous wallet addresses that have no legitimate ties to known governments or trusted entities. These donations will be used to provide aid and assistance to earthquake victims.
The best way to protect yourself from donation scams is to research any organization you are considering donating to. Make sure the organization is legitimate and that your money will actually go to help those in need. Don’t be fooled by convincing stories – take the time to do your due diligence before donating your money.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
