Scammers Masquerade as UNICEF and UNITED24: Ukrainians Lured with “Payments” While Their Cards Are Emptied

Ukrainians are being lured again with fake monetary assistance from well-known international and state platforms. The scammers use the names UNICEF and UNITED24 to elicit bank card details and gain access to money.

The Cyber Police of Ukraine reports a similar scheme.

Malicious actors spread ads or messages on social networks about supposedly guaranteed payments. A person is invited to click a link and fill out a form to receive assistance.

The page may look very similar to the real organization's site. The scammers use logos, familiar names, and design to prevent the victim from suspecting a spoof.

Next, the person is asked to enter their bank card number, its expiration date, CVV code, and sometimes even the online banking password or a code from SMS. Once these data are obtained, the criminals may attempt to perform operations on the account.

Cyber Police have previously exposed scammers who conducted livestreams on TikTok and impersonated representatives of UNITED24, UNICEF, the Elena Zelenskaya Foundation, and other well-known organizations. To steal money, they used phishing resources and social engineering techniques.

The promise of fast or “guaranteed” payments, for which you must urgently follow a link, should be especially suspicious. Another dangerous sign is requests to provide CVV, online banking password, or a one-time verification code.

At the same time, the mere mention of UNICEF in a message does not mean that any monetary assistance from the organization is fake. UNICEF does indeed run cash support programs in Ukraine, but they must be processed only through verified official channels.

UNITED24, in turn, is a platform for collecting donations to support Ukraine. On its official site, funds are gathered from donors, not offered as widespread “payments” to citizens for entering banking details.

Therefore, before clicking any link, carefully verify the website address. Pages with domain errors, extra words, or symbols that merely imitate the address of a well-known organization are especially dangerous.

If card details have already been entered on a suspicious site, contact your bank as soon as possible to block the card. Also report the fraudulent page to the Cyber Police.