{"id":18686,"date":"2022-04-06T04:10:02","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T12:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2022\/04\/06\/news-12419\/"},"modified":"2022-04-06T04:10:02","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T12:10:02","slug":"news-12419","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2022\/04\/06\/news-12419\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware Ukraine-themed fundraising scams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Christopher Boyd| Date: Wed, 06 Apr 2022 11:16:07 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately scammers continue to focus on the invasion of Ukraine to make money. A flurry of bogus domains and scam techniques are spreading their wings. They appear to focus on donation fakeouts but there\u2019s a few other nasty surprises lying in wait too.<\/p>\n

The lowest of the low<\/h2>\n

There are few lower tactics than fake fundraising during times of crisis. It was rife during the earthquake and tsunami of 2011<\/a>, with bogus Red Cross websites and email addresses set up to part people from their money. Money that could have been life-saving was diverted into the pockets of thieves. So too does history repeat itself during the invasion.<\/p>\n

Reports indicate a big run on phishing and scams. According to email security firm Tessian, registrations of domains containing \u201cUkraine\u201d have increased by 210%<\/a> compared to last year. Perhaps that\u2019s to be expected\u2014the question is how many are genuine and how many are potential rip-off efforts. Tessian’s stats suggest that three quarters are suspicious:<\/p>\n

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An average of 315 new Ukraine themed domains have been observed per day since the 24th February. 77% of these domains appear to be suspicious based on early indicators.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Fake it to make it<\/h2>\n

The tactics used match those deployed in 2011, and pretty much every other major catastrophe. Liberal use of official organisation logos and design which matches the real deal are all common. Where scams sometimes diverge from real fundraising sites is in requesting payment via cryptocurrency. There\u2019s even some QR codes thrown into the mix.<\/p>\n

One example given leans into the pressure angle<\/a>, providing supposed commentary from a 16 year old. Given the horrendous scenes of devastation, this is bound to spur some folks into donating. Unfortunately it\u2019ll only be lining the pockets of scammers.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also word of sites selling Ukraine-themed products, such as t-shirts and other items. While those items aren\u2019t likely to turn up, this is (potentially) less devastating than the donation sites given how much more people may be willing to send to charities.<\/p>\n

This is, of course, all very bad. There are things you can do to lessen the risk from awful scams such as the above.<\/p>\n

Tips to avoid donating to scammers<\/h2>\n