Trump Campaign Embraces Cryptocurrency Donations
Introduction of Crypto Donations
Last month, former president and convicted felon Donald Trump announced that his campaign would accept donations in cryptocurrency. This move has sparked a wave of cybercriminal activity, as detected by the cybercrime firm Netcraft.
Cybercriminals Exploit the Trend
Following Trump’s announcement, a surge of fake websites appeared, aiming to capitalize on the influx of donations. Cybercriminals anticipated the interest and were ready to exploit it.
“Criminals like to use events like this, to base their scams on topical events, things that people are interested in, where people are more likely to click on links,”
says Duncan. In the wake of the October 7 attacks and subsequent conflict in Palestine, Netcraft identified several donation scams targeting people on both sides of the conflict.
“They’re interested in getting cryptocurrency from anybody. And they’re not bothered about which political persuasion they might have,”
adds Duncan.
Current Status of Scams
Duncan notes that through blockchain checks, none of the scams seem to be successful yet, possibly because they are still new and not fully active.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The Appeal of Cryptocurrency for Criminals
Why Crypto Attracts Criminals
Cryptocurrencies are particularly useful for criminals because they are largely unregulated and lack the constraints of traditional financial institutions. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2023 Internet Crime Report, crypto investment scams cost people around $3.94 billion.
“Crypto is obviously a very good mechanism for criminals to use,”
says Duncan. “There’s no way to reverse payments; once the money’s in the criminal’s wallet, it’s gone.”
Trump’s Shift in Stance on Crypto
Trump’s recent support of crypto marks a significant shift from his presidency. In 2019, Trump stated he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies, emphasizing the primacy of the United States Dollar.
Trump’s Crypto Engagement
Before his campaign’s announcement in May, Trump held a meeting at Mar-a-Lago with crypto traders, indicating a Trump administration would not impose the same regulatory scrutiny on crypto as the Democratic Party. As the crypto industry has begun amassing funds to oppose candidates favoring more regulation, some Democrats have backed away from a hard-line stance.
Political Action Committees and Crypto
In December, leaders in the crypto space launched three political action committees (PACs) to support candidates with crypto-friendly policies. David Bailey, CEO of BTC Inc., told CNBC that the crypto industry was committed to raising “$100 million and turning out more than 5 million voters for the Trump reelection effort.”
Future of Crypto Donations in Politics
Biden Campaign’s Stance
It is unclear whether the Biden campaign will also begin accepting cryptocurrency donations. Netcraft has not observed similar scam activity targeting Biden supporters.
Gina Chow, emerging threat specialist at Netcraft, tells The Zero Byte that although the company has found impersonations of Biden in the past, “similar crypto-themed campaigns, like those targeting the Trump campaign, have not yet been identified in our research. As the Biden campaign extends its capacity to accept crypto, it is likely that it will experience similar threats.”
6 Comments
Isn’t it ironic that the MAGA crowd, who pride themselves on being so ‘informed,’ are falling for crypto scams?
Provocative: The irony is almost too rich—crypto scammers find MAGA supporters easy marks!
Joking: Maybe they should try building a scam wall next.
What a shocker—crypto and MAGA, a match made in dystopia!
Classic case of scammers meeting their perfect marks!
Where there’s blind faith, scammers aren’t far behind.