Police exposed fraudsters who extorted over UAH 1 million under the guise of charitable foundations
Kyiv • UNN
Fraudsters, posing as well-known charitable foundations, extorted over a million hryvnias from citizens through TikTok and phishing resources. Among the victims are servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Law enforcement officers exposed a group of fraudsters who, posing as representatives of well-known charitable organizations, defrauded citizens of over one million hryvnias. The criminals conducted fake online broadcasts on TikTok and used phishing resources to obtain personal and banking data of victims, including servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by the National Police, writes UNN.
The suspects conducted online broadcasts on TikTok, posing as representatives of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, the UNITED24 platform, the "Come Back Alive" Charitable Foundation, the Red Cross, and UNICEF. Using social engineering and phishing resources, they deceived Ukrainians, including servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The group leaders coordinated the work of accomplices, organized information online campaigns, distributed roles among participants, controlled financial flows, and ensured the operation of a network of phishing resources that copied the websites of well-known organizations.
Posing as official representatives of the foundations, the direct perpetrators conducted live streams on TikTok, convincing citizens to provide financial data for supposedly receiving aid.
To increase trust in themselves, group members displayed forged documents and fake payment confirmations. In some cases, the criminals convinced victims to make "test payments" to controlled accounts supposedly to verify the victims' bank cards.
After completing the fraudulent campaigns, they deleted content, fake accounts, and correspondence with victims, blocking the contacts of the victims.