Look Out! Fraudsters Are Using “Black Lives Matter” To Scam You!

Did you know that the largest pro-Black Lives Matter page on Facebook was a scam tied to a white man in Australia?

The page had accrued 700,000 Facebook followers, almost double the amount of the official Black Lives Matter Facebook page and is linked to several online fundraisers which garnered $100,000 in donations, according to CNN. At least some of the money was reportedly transferred to Australian bank accounts.

CNN reported that Facebook only deleted the page a week after the news outlet reported it to the company. The above screenshot of the fake Black Lives Matter Facebook page.

It is just amazing to see how opportunistic scammers are. They have moved from one tragic crisis to another. COVID-19 attracted hoaxes and exploited a fearful and anxious public, and now the murder of George Floyd and the worldwide protests are doing the same.

Here are a few other examples

1. Researchers at Abuse.ch, a Swiss company, warned in a series of tweets that malicious actors are attempting to spread the “TrickBot modular banking trojan” via phishing emails that ask recipients to “Leave a review confidentially about Black Lives Matter.”

The email asks recipients to fill out and return an attached document. When opened, the recipient is then compromised. It will then collect data and potentially encrypt the victim’s machine.

1. Scammers are using known brand names to scam buyers and cause reputation harm.

Are Starbucks or KFC coupons offering free food products to customers in the Black Lives Matter movement real? No, coupons being shared on social platforms are fake.

1. Websites and social media posts are spreading false claims about donations made to a leading Black Lives Matter organisation.

An Instagram page for the website WokeHub.com claimed, for example, that “donations made to Black Lives Matter website go directly to the DNC” and that BlackLivesMatter.com “appears to be an international money laundering program used by the Democratic National Committee.” A similar claim appeared on the conspiracy theory website InfoWars.com.

What can you do to protect yourself?

1. Don’t believe everything you see or reads online. As the saying goes “don’t trust, but verify.”

2. Know who you are dealing with. Find alternative ways to verify the site or the person is legitimate before you donate money.

3. Never click a URL link or open an attachment that you did not initiate it in the first place.

4. As much as you want to act on impulse, don’t. Take your time.

5. Guard your personal information.