A new series of "help Ukraine" donation posts have sprouted up across the Internet, but are really a cryptocurrency scam enticing users send crypto donations to counterfeit addresses.
Two of the keys to social engineering are proper context and good timing. In the case of a new string of crypto scams found by Bleeping Computer, these so-called “humanitarian donation” posts and phishing emails have both. Everything from posts claiming to be displaced Unkranians, to emails impersonating the Ukrainian Government, to emails claiming to be from the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The scam is the use of Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, Litecoin, and other cyrptocurrency addresses not associated with any of the claimed senders or posters. Take this example, captured by Bleeping Computer:
Source: Bleeping Computer
It doesn’t entirely help that the actual Ukrainian Government posted a tweet last month asking for help via cryptocurrency donations:
To date, the Ukranian Government has taken in over $37 million in legitimate donations.
Everyone should be wary of any requests online to help Ukraine and do research on legitimate ways to donate that will go directly to the intended recipients.
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