The Trump 2024 presidential fundraising campaign has become a target for cybercriminals looking to take advantage of the surge in donations following important dates in the campaign, such as the announcement that cryptocurrency donations would be accepted on May 21 and Trump’s conviction on May 31. A report from Netcraft highlights the rise of convincing scams from fraudsters seeking to profit from the publicity surrounding the campaign.
Netcraft’s report, titled “Trumped Up Crypto Scams – Criminals Deploy Trump Donation Scams,” reveals that cybercriminals had registered multiple online domains the day before the announcement about accepting crypto donations for the Trump 2024 campaign. One fraudster created a website that closely resembled the official Trump campaign page but was hosted on a different domain. Despite the obvious differences in the domain name, simple letter substitutions can be enough to deceive unsuspecting individuals and lead them to fall victim to the scam.
The scammers are continuously adapting their tactics to stay ahead of security measures and improve their chances of success. For example, they are monitoring the latest developments in the Trump campaign story and making strategic adjustments to their scams. After Trump’s trial verdict on May 31, the content on the fraudulent website changed to align with the ‘Never Surrender’ campaign narrative adopted by the real Trump campaign after raising over $50 million in a single day.
In addition to mimicking the official campaign website, cybercriminals are using various methods to facilitate crypto payments, such as creating phishing pages impersonating legitimate crypto payment platforms. They are also offering enticing incentives, like a chance to win a dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago for a donation of $2,000. By incorporating competition elements into their scams, fraudsters are able to attract more victims and increase their profits.
During conversations with a threat actor running a Trump National Committee phishing scam, Netcraft researchers discovered that fraudsters are increasingly utilizing artificial intelligence to create more convincing scams. AI technology enables scammers to eliminate spelling and grammar errors that are typically present in phishing emails, making the scams appear more legitimate and harder to detect. As a result, ordinary users may be more susceptible to falling for these sophisticated scams that mimic the language and style of the Trump campaign.
