Trump
Crypto scamners on prowl, target Trump donors after endorsement
Scammers are preying on Donald Trump’s loyal supporters with establishment of fake crypto websites after he endorsed the currency.
Against the backdrop of Trump’s endorsement, that his campaign would accept crypto donations, scammers have seized the opportunity, especially with the massive increase in donations.
Netcraft, a London-based cybersecurity firm, tracking these scams, said it discovered numerous fraudulent schemes posing as the Trump campaign, including misspelt web domains and misleading phishing efforts.
According to Netcraft, the fake sites, which include “donalbjtrump[.]com” and “doonaldjtrump[.]com,” are designed to look legitimate but are set up to steal funds from unsuspecting supporters.
It stated that the scammers are sophisticated and quickly adapt to current social events, as on May 31, following Trump’s guilty verdict, they adjusted their tactics to align with the “Never Surrender,” a narrative promoted by Trump’s campaign.
Netcraft said this emotional appeal made it easier for scammers to deceive supporters, adding that the sites include crypto donation centres, mimicking legitimate processes used by the Trump campaign, such as Coinbase.
Also, some phishing pages impersonated other crypto payment systems like Coingate, Plisio, and Oxapay.
Netcraft also found scams targeting traditional payment methods, redirecting users to the genuine campaign site only when non-crypto payment options were selected.
It said scammers’ tactics are highly sophisticated, employing AI to create convincing and elaborate schemes.
They have been using mass emails and texts to lure potential donors to fake websites.
Netcraft’s investigation identified a scammer posing as the “Trump National Committee,” uncovering valuable information about the methods used for money laundering and other criminal activities.
It noted that with the Trump campaign collecting over $50 million within 24 hours of his guilty verdict, it’s difficult to estimate how much money might have been diverted by these scams.