Crisis profiteers, scammers turn Turkey-Syria earthquake into a money-swindling opportunity

Amid the debris and ruins left in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Turkey-Syria, scammers have propped up by the numbers to exploit the humanitarian crisis.

The scammers have made elaborate profiles on social media platforms such as Twitter and TikTok, asking gullible netizens to donate money to help in the aid process.

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A now-suspended Twitter page named "Turkey Earthquake Relief" with only 31 followers to its name had been asking for donations via PayPal. It had $900 in donations but $500 came from the creator of the page to make the exercise look authentic.

According to BleepinComputer, while most scammers use phishing links or separate domains to make the ploy work in ordinary circumstances, the current batch is using legit links to trustworthy payment platforms to make their trick look convincing.

Other scams include getting donations in crypto wallets which may never reach the ground. On TikTok, the content creators are receiving digital gifts by live streaming the recordings of TV shows chronicling the destruction trail of the earthquake.

It is a zero-effort ploy that often brings monetary benefit to the creators/con artists only. Captions like 'Pray for Turkey', 'Donate for Turkey' are used to ask for donations.

Watch |Hundreds dead, many trapped as major earthquake jolts Turkey, Syria

Meanwhile, some are using distressing photos and videos, from earlier events to drive up donations for their scam. In one particular instance, a TikTok account could be seen posting a photo of a child running in front of a dystopian background with the caption, 'Please help achieve this goal'.

However, a simple reverse search shows that the photo had been posted in 2018 on Twitter with the caption 'Stop Afrin Genocide'.

What happened in Turkey-Syria?

A week ago, Turkey and Syria were rocked by one of the most powerful earthquakes in recent memory that has already taken the lives of over 33,000.

In the aftermath of the quake, over 34,000 have lost their lives. Questions have been raised over the safety of the buildings across Turkey which were flattened like a pack of cards.

Around 6,000 buildings collapsed in the Gaziantep area - the epicentre of the quake. According to the state media, police have detained over 130 contractors for not following the building codes which led to the death of thousands.

WATCH | Drone footage shows the devastating earthquake aftermath in Turkey

Miracle rescues

Amid the doom and gloom, some cheer has come in the form of real-life superheroes working on the ground to rescue people trapped in the debris.

On Monday, five-year-old Aras was rescued from the rubble of his home in the city of Kahramanmaras, 105 hours after the earthquake.

Similarly, a young girl, trapped in the ruins for 178 hours or seven-and-a-half days was also rescued by the miracle workers on the ground. Video footage of her rescue shows people cheering 'God is Great' as she was lifted out of the destruction.

(With inputs from agencies)

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