Threat actors have found a way to perform scams amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, especially now that the latter has been reaching out for help to charities and asking for donations. As Ukraine relied on these cryptocurrency fundraisers, hackers took advantage of the effort to gain illicit profit.
Ukraine recently announced and promised those who donated to the fundraiser to receive new government-sponsored cryptocurrency tokens as a form of gratitude; however, the country cancelled the plan. Cybercriminals, though, have not been fazed by the confusion and instead used it as an opportunity to launch a phoney token called ‘Peaceful World’ that had skyrocketed into over $180 million of value in just a week.
Another cryptocurrency scam was also discovered by researchers with the name ‘SAVE UKRAINE’ displayed on suspicious domains that pose as Ukrainian organisations.
Aside from fake websites promoting the fake virtual coins to scam donors, threat actors have also taken their malicious activities on Twitter and Telegram. As observed by researchers, some have been posing as Ukrainian organisations on both platforms to solicit donations sent to a specific cryptocurrency address.
The hackers who exploited cryptocurrency fundraisers faked their legitimacy by posting screenshots of new donations for proof.
Other hackers have impersonated Binance, a popular crypto trading platform, to collect donations under the fake name ‘Binance Support.’ Furthermore, these hackers also include email scams into their vectors of defrauding people for money, such as posing as legitimate charity organisations to solicit donations in the forms of cash or bitcoin.
Researchers have already discovered many hackers impersonating different Ukrainian organisations, including Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, Act for Peace, and UNICEF, to steal money from donors. Also, email phishing scams allegedly from Ukraine Red Cross Society were found.
After Ukraine announced giving government-sponsored cryptocurrency tokens to donors, threat actors quickly deployed malicious activities, such as scams, to victimise people and profit from it. Experts expect these malicious activities to surge in the coming days, especially amid the Ukraine-Russia war, where hackers take advantage of to lure people as they improve their persuasion methods to be able to scam more effectively.
People who have been donating to fundraisers, such as for aiding Ukraine, are strongly advised to be vigilant about where they send their donations.
