The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced the postponement of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The delay in the Olympics games has triggered a series of online crypto-related scams, including an email from alleged members of the International Olympic Committee. In these emails, scammers asked unsuspecting victims for donations in cryptocurrencies. According to the Trend Micro report, scammers are asking for donations in crypto so that Japanese organizers can recover from the economic impact produced by the postponement of the Olympic games, which is the biggest sports event in the world.
Scammers ask victims to help avoid cancellation of the Olympic games.
In the fake email, an alleged member of the Olympic Committee noted that the organization has to deal with the loss of money invested in airline tickets, hotels, infrastructure materials, and production booking arrangements, and therefore, donations are required. In the same email, the crypto scammer said that if the funding target is not met, then the international image of the Japanese people will be severely damaged, and Olympics 2020 would have to be canceled.
Scammers ask to donate in bitcoins.
The alleged members of the Olympic Committee extended the invitation for people to donate to a supposed Bitcoin crypto wallet belonging to the International Olympic Committee. Scammers claim that donors will be eligible to purchase a ticket for the Olympics Games at a discount of 30%. Trend Micro report revealed that over 400 similar scam emails sent from April 24 to 26th belong to IP addresses from internet providers in Japan.
However, the scams related to the Olympic Games are not new as the Chinese Olympic Committee previously received complaints about scammers impersonating as members of the so-called “World Olympic Sports Foundation.” These scammers lure in victims to invest in unique products related to the Olympic Games. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic scammers have been using the opportunity to lure innocent victims into investing in fraudulent schemes. Earlier, the FBI had issued a similar warning about the surge in scams concerning the pandemic.
