u.today
Scammers do not hesitate to exploit the coronavirus epidemic for their personal gains.
According to Sophos' security researcher Chester Wisniewski, they are now impersonating the World Health Organization (WHO) in an attempt to get donations in Bitcoin (BTC).
Spammers and scammers are now impersonating the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Don't donate Bitcoin to crooks... Send the money to the real deal at https://t.co/ZIJBjsRjuR pic.twitter.com/M9RFnfORti
— Chester Wisniewski (@chetwisniewski) March 18, 2020
Don't send your coins to crooks
The screenshot shared by Wisniewski shows an e-mail that was supposedly sent by the WHO. Bad actors claim that they want to raise money for a COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which was recently formed together with the United Nations Foundation to combat the spreading pandemic. Apart from receiving support from such giants as Facebook and Google, the fund also collects individual donations.
However, those who will be gullible enough to send crypto to the Bitcoin address included in the e-mail will only enrich those who concocted this scam.
Watch out for other coronavirus scams
With both Donald Trump and Angela Merkel comparing the coronavirus pandemic to World War II, it's no stranger that the fear is about to reach a tipping point, which plays right into the hands of scammers.
As reported by U.Today, some of them also promise to accept orders for face masks or promise to provide their clients with a list of infected individuals in their region in exchange for BTC.