The claim

Various fraudulent accounts on TikTok, Twitter and other social media channels claim to be collecting funds for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. A stolen AI image of a helping firefighter is also used for this purpose.

Our conclusion

Be careful when donating via TikTok's gift function or transfers to crypto wallets shared on Twitter. Attention SCAM!

As the BBC reports, among others, a generated AI image is currently being used to steal donations via crypto wallet that are supposed to benefit the victims of the earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria. Others take advantage of tips and gifts on platforms like TikTok.

These scams claim to raise money for survivors left without heat or piped water after the earthquake. Instead of helping, scammers are redirecting donations that could otherwise be used by real charities to their own PayPal accounts and cryptocurrency wallets. Here is an overview of some current SCAM methods on social media.

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Donation SCAM on TikTok Live

On TikTok Live, content creators can earn money by digital gifts . Currently, some TikTok accounts are posting photos of devastation and repeating TV footage of relief efforts. At the same time they are asking for donations. Under “Let's help Turkey”, “Donation campaign Turkey”, “deprem yardımı” and similar keywords in many languages, you can find countless videos and accounts that are vying for the money of those willing to help.

One account showed over three hours of pixelated aerial footage of destroyed buildings accompanied by the sounds of explosions. A man could also be heard off-camera laughing and apparently speaking Mandarin. The video was subtitled “Let's help Turkey. donation”. Another video shows a panicked child running away from an explosion; accompanied by the request “Please help achieve this goal”, i.e. a request for gifts paid for with TikTok coins.

___STEADY_PAYWALL___

BBC investigated and found the source of the image of the frightened boys: it is actually from a Twitter post from 2018 and is captioned with the words “Stop Afrin Genocide”. Afrin is a Syrian city from which Turkish troops drove out local Kurdish militias.

Not the AI ​​image, but a TikTok SCAM with an image from Afrin
SCAM on TikTok and original image from Twitter. Source: BBC

Another problem with such “gifts” on the video platform is the immense margin that TikTok makes from it: according to the BBC, it should be 70 percent. TikTok is at least aware of the abuse and wants to do something about it:

We are deeply saddened by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and support earthquake relief efforts. We also actively work to prevent fraud and misleading community members who want to help.

Narrator from TikTok to BBC

Twitter: SCAM with AI image

Donations are asked for in a similarly emotional way on Twitter. Instead of TikTok coins or diamonds, this is about cryptocurrency. Calls for donations are immediately provided with the numbers of Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets and reposted .

However, the original image was posted on Facebook by former Aegean Fire Brigade Major General Panagiotis Kotridis. He wanted to send a “personal message of support and compassion” to his Greek colleagues from EMAK who are deployed in the Turkish disaster area, as the Greek newspaper Pro Thema writes. “To honor my colleagues who are doing their best to save those affected by the earthquakes in Turkey, I took this photo,” the accompanying text reads, and “I am here for you” in Greek, English and Turkish.

Για να τιμήσω τους συναδέλφους που δίνουν τον καλύτερο εαυτό τους για. την διάσωση των πληγέντων από τους σεισμούς της…

Posted by Panagiotis Kotridis at the Wednesday, February 8, 2023

You can quickly see that the picture can't be a real photo when you count the fingers on the firefighter's hand. A typical error indicating AI-generated content. Regarding Pro Theme, creator Kotridis said that it is a composition and not an actual photo. It is the result of editing Photoshop and Midjourney (artificial intelligence program), which he would have mastered perfectly. AFP 's Greek team felt compelled to do their own fact check.

SCAM no more

But back to the scam on Twitter. BBC wrote to the author of the posts, who claimed it was a legitimate fundraiser: “My aim is to help the people affected by the earthquake if I can raise funds. […] Now people in the disaster area are freezing, and babies in particular have no food. I can prove this process with receipts.” However, he was unable to show these receipts and did not provide proof of identification.

What doesn't speak for his cause at all are the numbers of the wallets: one was already used in fraud and spam tweets in 2018, the other appears on the Russian social media website VK together with pornographic content. Not only the BBC warns about this, but also the Turkish IT blog ÇözümPark . There are many more examples of donation fraud via crypto wallets or Paypall accounts in the article there. Another particularly conspicuous Twitter account has therefore already been blocked:

MIMIKAMA

Conclusion: Don't trust any AI images... or dubious accounts on social media channels. If you want to make sure that your donations actually end up where you want them and are used appropriately, stick to organizations that have a donation seal like the one from the DZI .

Rating: FALSE

Sources: BBC , Pro Thema , Greekreporter , ÇözümPark , AFP Greece , DZI , Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, VK
Cover photo: Panagiotis Kotridis & Midjourney

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