Heartless scammers are cashing into the tragic earthquakes in Syria and Turkey by tricking people into donating to fake appeals.
Generous families across the UK are looking to support the international aid efforts to help families in the wake of the devastating earthquakes earlier this month, but fraudsters are channelling donations away from real charities, and into their own PayPal accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.
Online safety expert Get Safe Online told This Is Money that it is braced for a flood of fraudulent emails, social media posts and websites pleading for donations for relief efforts. And the BBC has reported that scammers are using pictures which are not from Turkey or Syria and sometimes even generated using Artificial Intelligence software, after Twitter users were quick to spot that this firefighter used in an call for donations has six digits on his right hand.
These scams claim to raise money for survivors, left without heat or water following the disasters that have killed more than 44,000 people. Similar scams emerged following the Nepalese earthquake, Pakistan floods and hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the war in Ukraine, and Tony Neate, chief executive of Get Safe Online, says: "It never fails to amaze and disgust me that whenever there is a tragedy, cybercriminals use it as an opportunity to defraud people into parting with their well-earned money. We want to warn the public of these anticipated scams, so they can make sure their cash is donated to those who desperately need it, and not a fraudster."
The Charity Commission for England and Wales and the Fundraising Regulator are urging people to make sure charities are genuine before donating by checking its name and registration number on the Charity Register on the Gov.uk website or donating via the official Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.
According to the BBC, more than 100 fundraisers were launched on PayPal asking for donations and some are fake. Donors should be especially wary of accounts that say they are in Turkey because PayPal has not been operating in Turkey since 2016. A PayPal spokesperson told the BBC: "While the vast majority of people using PayPal to accept donations have the best intentions, there are inevitably some who attempt to prey on the charitable nature and generosity of others. PayPal teams are always working diligently to scrutinise and ban accounts, particularly in the wake of events like the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, so that donations go to intended causes."
On TikTok Live, content creators can make money by receiving digital gifts and TikTok fake accounts are posting photos of devastation, looped footage and recordings of TVs showing rescue efforts, whilst asking for donations. A TikTok spokesperson said: "We are deeply saddened by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and are contributing to aid earthquake relief efforts. We're also actively working to prevent people from scamming and misleading community members who want to help."
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