Charity Turns Down Bitcoin Donation From Darkside Hackers

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20 October 2020

Hackers who handed out cryptocurrency donations to charities are having a hard time in their bid to “make the world a better place.”

  • According to a BBC report Monday, members of the hacking group Darkside showed proof of two charity donations, each for 0.88 bitcoin (worth around $10,400 at press time), in a blog post on the dark web.
  • One of the non-profits, Children International, said it would not accept the funds.
  •  "If the donation is linked to a hacker, we have no intention of keeping it," it said.
  • The second charity to receive a Darkside donation was The Water Project, which didn't respond to the BBC.
  • The hackers, who employ ransomware as the tool of their illicit trade, reportedly said in their post they only target large, profitable companies.
  • "We think that it's fair that some of the money the companies have paid will go to charity," they said.
  • The group is reported to have made millions from its illegal activities.
  • To make the donations, the cybercriminals used the service offered by The Giving Block, a U.S.-based project that converts donations into dollars for charities not set up to handle cryptocurrencies.

Read more: Hodlers Can Donate Crypto to Charity to Minimize Tax Payments

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