Categories: EducationScams

Bitcoin Scam Education – Fake Charities and Donations

Some people and companies will stoop very low in the Bitcoin world, and even organize seemingly charitable events to defraud people. Although there are plenty of legitimate charities accepting Bitcoin donations, individual efforts should usually not be trusted by community members. After all, there is no way to determine whether or not somebody’s intentions are honest or not, and there is a very real chance someone is just looking to steal some bitcoins.

Also read: Bitcoin Scam Education – Cloud Mining Companies

Not Every Charity Is What They Claim To Be

It is very noble of Bitcoin enthusiasts to donate to a good cause, as there are lots of people in need of financial aid. Bitcoin is an incredibly valuable tool in this regard, as the digital currency is borderless, cheap to transfer, and it can be converted to any local currency with relative ease.

Even though the list of charities accepting Bitcoin donations has grown a lot over the past few years, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Unfortunately, this also makes it much harder to cull the weed from the chaff, as anyone can claim to collect money for a good cause and just run off with the Bitcoin donations.

It would not be the first time somebody claimed to run a fundraiser for some good cause, and just keep the money for themselves. Although this happens very rarely with companies – or it hasn’t happened yet in Bitcoin as far as we know – individual users have attempted to defraud digital currency enthusiasts in the name of charity in the past.

Related Post

There are no lows people will not stoop to in the Bitcoin world, unfortunately. Pulling on the emotional strings seems to be a great way to collect a lot of money from digital currency enthusiasts, even though people should be a lot more careful before sending money to a random wallet address.

Most people claiming to collect funds for a charitable cause will not even include any photos in their post. Considering how this cause must be in “dire need of money”, it would only make sense to provide some evidence of why people should throw their money at you to begin with.

Moreover, some basic internet search skills will usually depict whether or not such a charitable cause exists in the first place. Any effort to collect donations without any mention on the Internet is most likely not legitimate. Users should ask more information about the cause as well, such as address, phone number, names of other people involved, et cetera. People collecting donations who are unable or unwilling to give up that information, are trying to defraud you.

Images credit 1,2

If you liked this article follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin and altcoin price analysis and the latest cryptocurrency news.

JP Buntinx

JP Buntinx is a FinTech and Bitcoin enthusiast living in Belgium. His passion for finance and technology made him one of the world's leading freelance Bitcoin writers, and he aims to achieve the same level of respect in the FinTech sector.

Share
Published by
JP Buntinx

Recent Posts

$50M AAVE Purchase Sparks Debate Over DeFi Safeguards

A massive decentralized finance trade has drawn widespread attention after a user attempted to purchase…

7 hours ago

Ethereum Sets Out To Become A “Sanctuary Technology”

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has unveiled a newly released Ethereum Foundation (EF) Mandate, outlining the…

7 hours ago

TOKEN2049 Dubai Postponed To 2027 Following Security Concerns After Regional Drone Attacks

One of the world’s most prominent cryptocurrency conferences, TOKEN2049, has officially postponed its upcoming Dubai…

7 hours ago

Vitalik Buterin Reconsiders Ethereum’s Core Role, Says Data Availability May Matter More Than Smart Contracts

Discussions around blockchain technology often place smart contracts at the center of everything. But recently,…

1 day ago

XRP ETFs Pull About $1.4B Inflows as Retail Investors Lead Demand, BlackRock Launches Ethereum Staking ETF

Interest around crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continues to grow, and new data suggests that XRP-related…

1 day ago

Ledger Researchers Reveal MediaTek Flaw That Could Expose Crypto Wallets on Android Phones

Security researchers at Ledger say they have uncovered a serious vulnerability affecting Android smartphones that…

2 days ago