Potential Donation Scams Around The Catastrophe In Turkey And Syria – Technisanct’s Report

Technisanct's Report has claimed donation scams happening over the recent Turkey-Syria Earthquake devastation. People need to be aware of genuine and scam links before making donations.

Spotlight Desk

Updated on: 15 February 2023 12:51 pm

Donation scams through crypto

More than 20,000 people have died and hundreds have been injured in Turkey and Syria two days after a?magnitude?7.8 earthquake?and more casualties are feared as first responders continue their rescue operations. Scammers are currently taking advantage of this humanitarian catastrophe. Here is information you should be aware of if you want to?assist?or support affected communities in Turkey and Syria.?

Scammers are aware of how readily we extend our generosity to people who have served our country as well as those who are rebuilding their lives in the wake of storms, earthquakes, or?wildfires;?thus,?charity scammers are particularly active then.?Some fake charities are successful because they look authentic. They communicate with you through telemarketing, direct mail, email, and door-to-door solicitations, much like real NGOs do. They construct attractive websites with misleading names.?

Talking about the ongoing?scams,?Mayank?Sahariya, Threat intelligence analyst-?Technisanct?says that?theme-based?scamming and phishing has been popular since?the last?few years. Most of them rely?on?global scenarios. We saw this during?the Covid?pandemic?following?FIFA?world cup. Awareness is the key. We need to check in?an?out before clicking links or transferring funds. Verify twice before we perform an action.?

Fraudsters are abusing?social media?platform:?

Researchers from?Technisanct?have discovered?a number of?Telegram channels that have recently been formed to entice citizens looking for fundraisers.?

We saw specific users?attempting?to collect donations through spamming on Facebook group.?A twitter account that purported to be?a non-profit Dao raising money through crypto?currency transactions turned out to be a hoax.??

Difficult to distinguish the fake vs legitimate

Future threats are prepared to strike:?

Our researchers visited several websites that could result in financial fraud. The attractive typos "donate, help, fund for turkey" are used to?establish?suspicious websites that could result in?scam. Domains are newly registered or parked with no established?previous?record.?

We suggest?the following advice:?

Don't?give donations to groups?you've?never heard of before the event.?

Donate only to organizations with a proven?track record.?

If you know someone in the affected area, try to?get in touch with?them to see what you can do to help.?

People with connections to the impacted area may be the target of?scams.?

Be wary of calls or emails that pretend to be from a friend or relative and ask for money.?

Scammers may use social?media data?to?get in touch with?you.?

Do not take?assistance?requests posted on social media at face value.?

Don't?just look up money-giving options on Google.?

Given below are that genuine path as well as other legitimate charity and government relief organizations, publish their real bank account details on their official websites.?

Republic Of Turkey Ministry?Of?Interior Disaster?And?Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD)?

AHBAP Association?

KIZILAY (Turkish Red Crescent)?

AKUT - Search and Rescue Association?

IHH - Humanitarian Relief Foundation?

We can see online that?there are multiple fundraisers collecting funds for Turkey and earthquake victims because anyone may start up a fundraiser online and claim to have the best of intentions, it can be difficult to distinguish?scams?from legitimate fundraising efforts.?Some fundraisers without any authentic?track record?are collecting funds that raise a red flag, make sure the accounts you are funding are linked to legitimate businesses.??

With 100% growth every year,?Technisanct?is?emerging?to be one of the leading?cybersecurity?companies in India with unmatched threat intelligence platforms and security services.?

Founded in 2018,?Technisanct?is at the forefront of enterprise digital risk management. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru and has a global presence via its resellers and distributors in countries like Singapore, New Zealand, Dubai, and Oman. In addition to enterprises,?Technisanct?also caters to cyber security needs of government agencies.?By FY 2024-2025,?Technisanct?has set a target to?emerge?as India’s first Security?SaaS?unicorn.?