Charity Donation Scams in Ukraine Emerge

As the country accumulates millions of bitcoins, numerous warnings have indicated that fraudulent schemes for cryptocurrency charitable donations are on the rise in Ukraine.

Charity donation scams in Ukraine are emerging

ESET researchers uncovered a number of websites accessed under the guise of charity funds. They tend to talk about a similar topic, make emotional but feigned calls for solidarity with the Ukrainian people, or call on the public to fund the country’s defense efforts.

These sites make very vague statements about how “help” is used.

Some domains to watch out for are:

• help-for-ukrain[.]EU
• sign Ukraine[.]com
• support of Ukraine[.]today
• ukrainecharity[.]gives
• ukraine solidarity[.]org
• ukraine solidarity[.]com
• Ukraine[.]today

Also, always be on the lookout for spiritual requests that may appear in your email. A Reddit user shared such a spoof incident at Timstrings.

Other similar attempts aimed at tricking victims into receiving some bitcoin are circulating on Twitter and other social media. All in all, in an era of widespread account takeovers and ongoing cyberattacks on Ukrainian targets, it can be difficult to verify “digital only” information. While social media sites often play an important role in spreading charity in times of crisis, they are also fertile ground for fraud.

Bleeping Computer has warned in an article that people who want to send cryptocurrency to Ukraine to protect their country from the military campaign launched by Russia, due to fraudulent websites, articles posted on forums and emailed in could fall.

The Tech newspaper has identified several new scams tricking crypto users into “helping Ukraine” by donating Bitcoin and other digital currencies to addresses other than those set up by Kyiv and government governments, provided by Ukrainian NGOs.

The scammers behind the scams use a variety of methods. These emails range from phishing emails that appear to be from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs or NPR domains, to forum posts that appear to be related to the Help Ukraine movement.

The report revealed that other ransomware and cybersecurity researchers like Malware Hunter Team and Jake Jcybersec_ found several .org and .com domains used by scammers like “Ukraine-donate”, “Ukraineglobalaid” and “Ukraineglobalaid” “Ukrainewar. support” have been set up.

What is likely to increase the effectiveness of these scams is that they often make emotional appeals that the target audience finds difficult to resist, the publication notes. Add to this the fact that the Ukrainian government and local volunteer groups have been actively seeking donations in various currencies to fund their defense efforts:

How to avoid charity scams in Ukraine

If you would like to help by making a donation, here are some tips on how to do so safely:

– Double check before you give anything – it’s best to stick to well-known organizations that are active in this field and have a presence or partner in Ukraine.

– Donate your money through the organization’s website or visit the charity in person for instructions.

– Be wary of requests to send money or send gift cards. Charities don’t typically ask for this type of “donation.”

– Avoid clicking links or downloading attachments in unsolicited emails or social media messages, especially from unknown sources and those that increase alert. They may try to trick you into accidentally downloading malware on your device.

– Even with messages from trusted sources, be cautious unless you verify that the message is authentic. To do this, contact the source in a different way than the one received, e.g. e.g. by telephone, if you have received them by e-mail, etc.

– Be wary of social media posts promoting a charity unless you confirm that the organization is legitimate. The person you are recommending probably hasn’t done any research, and the number of likes for a social media post doesn’t say much about its legitimacy either.

– Don’t give in to undue pressure – scammers will use the urgency of the situation to pressure you into making a donation.

As the crisis remains in the headlines around the world, scammers will continue to seek to exploit the plight of those affected by the war for their own gain. So if you want to help, be very careful.

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