In a new wave of fraud, fraudsters are reaching out to unexpected recipients with seemingly generous offers of donations. In an email we have received, the recipient is promised a generous donation of 600,000 euros from Nicolas Berggruen, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist.
Nicolas Berggruen is a German-American investor and philanthropist. Born in Paris in 1961, he is the founder and president of Berggruen Holdings, a private investment company, and the Berggruen Institute, a think tank. He is also known as “the homeless billionaire” because he had no permanent address for a while and lived in hotels.
The fraudulent Donation for Change email uses Berggruen's name without his knowledge or consent. He has no knowledge of these emails and is in no way involved. This is a misuse of his name by fraudsters in order to disguise their dubious intentions and gain the trust of the recipients. It is important to be aware that genuine philanthropists and organizations would never offer unsolicited money or charge upfront fees for donations or investments.
Be careful – this email is a form of advance fee fraud

What do the scammers want?
Essentially, the scammers want to exploit the good faith and hope of the recipients. They promise a large amount of money, thereby arousing hopes and dreams. The email suggests that the recipient was selected from a pool of recipients and that the donation will be of great help to him or his organization.
However, this first email is typically followed by another asking recipients to pay a fee or provide personal information in order to receive the donation. This fee can be charged under various pretexts, such as: B. as a transaction fee, tax or processing fee.
In reality there is no donation. The fraudsters collect the fees and misuse the personal data for further crimes such as identity theft.
How can you protect yourself from this donation scam?
Here are some tips to protect yourself from such scams:
1. Distrust of unsolicited offers of money: If you receive an email with an unexpected offer of money, you should be skeptical. It's unusual for someone you don't know to simply give you money.
2. Verify email addresses: Often, scam emails come from addresses that do not match the person or organization mentioned. If the email address looks suspicious, it's probably not legitimate.
3. Be careful with poor grammar and spelling: Many scam emails are poorly written. Even if the grammar and spelling in the first email appear perfect, subsequent emails may have significant errors.
4. Do not make advance payments: Do not spend any money or transfer any fees before verifying the authenticity of the offer.
5. Research on the Internet: Search the Internet for the names and organizations mentioned in the email. There are often reports from other affected parties or warnings about the fraud.
Conclusion: Even if such emails can seem very tempting at first glance, caution is advised. The rule is: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
also read
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