FBI warns of scams related to Ukraine crisis | News, Sports, Jobs

The Maui News

The public should be aware of recent fraudulent schemes seeking donations or other financial assistance related to the crisis in Ukraine, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said last week.

Criminal actors are taking advantage of the Russian-Ukrainian War by posing as Ukrainian entities needing humanitarian aid or developing fundraising efforts, including monetary and cryptocurrency donations, the FBI said.

Scammers similarly have used past crises as opportunities to target members of the public with fraudulent donation schemes.

The FBI provided tips on how to protect against scams, including being suspicious of online communications claiming to be individuals affected by the conflict in Ukraine and seeking immediate financial assistance.

Although the Ukrainian government and other private organizations do maintain official donation mechanisms, the FBI said to be cautious and verify information about entities purporting to solicit aid for causes linked to the crisis in Ukraine.

“If an entity asks for donations to specific cryptocurrency addresses, be cautious, always carefully check if the addresses are legitimate, and compare the address alphanumeric characters to any known official addresses,” according to the public service announcement.

Federal agents also suggest not communicating with or open texts, emails, attachments, or links from unknown individuals posing as Ukrainian entities in need of humanitarian aid, as well as not sending payments to unknown individuals or organizations asking for financial assistance.

Best practices to verify charities include, but are not limited to, researching the charity online to see if there are news, reviews, or posts linking the charity to fraud; checking to see if the charity is registered within the state’s charity regulator; and checking the Internal Revenue Service’s website to see if the charity is registered at https://www.irs.gov.

To report a financial internet scam or a fraudulent scheme related to the Ukrainian crisis, file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

If possible, include any information about the individuals or charity, such as name, phone number, address, and email address; financial transaction information, such as the date, type of payment, amount, account numbers involved, the name and address of the receiving financial institution, and receiving cryptocurrency addresses; and a description of the interaction with the individual, including how contact was initiated, like the type of communication, purpose of the request for money, how payment was instructed to be made, what information that was provided to the criminal actor, and any other details pertinent to your complaint.

For questions or concerns, call the local field office at (808) 566-4300 or visit honolulu.fbi.gov.