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Cybercriminals exploit the Israel-Hamas conflict through fraudulent emails and websites. Photo: ist
JAKARTA – Those who actively follow the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be careful. Because cybercriminals are currently actively exploiting this conflict to cheat with fake donations.
According to Kaspersky, cybercriminals exploit the public’s willingness to help Palestinian victims by tricking potential victims into making donations, ultimately leading to theft of money.
To date, more than 540 fraudulent emails and fake websites have been discovered. Kaspersky urges users to remain vigilant and take proactive steps to verify recipients of donations.
“Fake charity scams are common, often exploiting real disasters or emergencies,” said Andrey Kovtun, security expert at Kaspersky.
According to him, there has been a spike in fraudulent emails written in English, falsely asking for donations for those affected by the conflict.
Attackers use sophisticated social engineering techniques to exploit people’s desire to make fake donations. For example, impersonating a charity and using emotive language to persuade users to click on a fraudulent website link. Then they will be asked to contribute. These fraudulent emails come from various addresses.
“In these emails, fraudsters try to create several text variations to avoid spam filters. For example, using various call-to-donation phrases such as ‘we call on your compassion and benevolence’ or ‘we call on your empathy and generosity,’ and replacing words like ‘help’ with synonyms like ‘support’, ‘assistance’,” he said .
The link used in the email leads to a fraudulent website. The website gives users context about the conflict, displays photos, and encourages them to make donations.
Scammers facilitate easy money transfers, offering options for various cryptocurrency transactions – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, to Litecoin.
Andrey said, to avoid fraud, it’s a good idea to check the page thoroughly before donating. Fake sites often lack key information about charity organizers, recipients, documentation of legitimacy, or lack transparency regarding the use of funds.
Take Time Before Donating
Here are some steps you can take before donating:
1. Check the charity’s website and credentials
2. To donate online, typing in the charity website address is safer than clicking a link.
3. If you are unsure about the organizations you have vetted, refer to well-known organizations that provide humanitarian support such as UN aid agencies.
4. Be careful about money transfer requests.
5. Fake websites may look almost identical to genuine charity sites, with only the details of where to send donations being the only difference. Spelling or grammatical errors often indicate a fake page.
6. Be careful when using social media. Social media is a useful way for charities to communicate with the public and solicit donations. But don’t assume that a donation request on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube is legitimate just because a friend liked or shared it.
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