While solidarity fundraising in favor of Ukraine is multiplying and appeals for donations are becoming more and more numerous, scammers are obviously taking advantage of this terrible situation to scam users who show generosity. Caution is advised when it comes to making a gesture for Ukraine on the web.
It has now been over a week since war broke out in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, solidarity fundraising and appeals for donations for Ukraine are increasing, whether to help the refugees or the people who have chosen to stay put despite the danger. Owners of digital assets have not hesitated to get their hands on their Wallet, since Ukraine has not received $52 million in cryptocurrency donations.
For their part, many companies are trying to provide assistance on their own scale, such as SpaceX which delivered Starlink kits to the Ukrainian forces, or Free, Orange and SFR which have chosen to lower the prices of communications to the country. Only, it was necessary that crooks are shamelessly taking advantage of this terrible situation to scam users who seek to show generosity.
“On the first day of the conflict, we spotted almost two thousand fraudulent e-mails related to the Ukrainian events”, explains to our colleagues from Figaro Bogdan Botezatu, research director at Bitdefender, a company specializing in computer security. Without surprise, phishing campaigns about Ukraine have exploded on the web. The scammers pose as refugees in need of money and seek to obtain funds by contacting users by email in Europe, Asia and the United States.
Scams around donations for Ukraine explode
According to BitDefender, 91% of fraudulent messages were sent from IP addresses located in the Netherlands. Some scammers also hijack social media accounts. You know the song, the scammer then contacts acquaintances (no close friends who might question his version), and explains to them that he is stuck in Ukraine and needs money to escape . Faced with the urgency of such a situation, one can easily fall into the trap:
“There is a very big emotional implication. Sometimes you are close enough to a person to want to help them, but not close enough to be able to immediately verify the veracity of the messages. assures the head of Bitdefender. Fake cries for help are also posted on Twitter or Instagramin which it is requested to make payments in Bitcoin to help Ukrainians.
Anyway, it is advisable to make donations to known foundations and NGOs such as the International Committee of the Red Cross or the High Commissioner for Refugees, which is none other than a United Nations body. And if you wish to donate to smaller associations, it is best to check their creation date on the Official Journal to ensure their authenticity.
Source: Le Figaro
