Update 7:53am CT, March 17: The account impersonating Zelenska on Twitter was suspended following publication. The original article appears below.
A Twitter account impersonating the first lady of Ukraine to seek cryptocurrency donations remains live days after she called it out.
War always attracts profiteers. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already proven irresistible to scammers.
First Lady Olena Zolenska posted a screenshot of the Twitter account impersonating her on Saturday.
“Fake Twitter page. Fraudsters are trying to make money even on the suffering of the whole country,” she wrote on her verified Instagram page in English and Ukrainian, along with screenshots of the account.
“The war is still going on in the information space, so let’s not fall into enemy traps and win with proven weapons.”
Zelenska added that she only uses Instagram, Facebook, and Telegram.
Nearly 50,000 people liked Zelenska’s Instagram post.
As of this writing, the Twitter account, @OlenaZelenska34, remains live.
It doesn’t indicate that it’s inauthentic or a parody. Its bio is written in Ukrainian, uses Zelenska’s real birthday, and gives its location as Ukraine.
Whoever controls the @OlenaZelenska34 account didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s inquiry sent via Twitter direct message Wednesday afternoon. The account then blocked the Daily Dot reporter who sent the inquiry
Twitter didn’t immediately respond to questions about the account sent via email on Wednesday.
The account was created last May. It began tweeting as Zelenska days after Russia invaded Ukraine. Before that, it seems to have been dedicated to replying to tweets about cryptocurrency by directing people to a Telegram channel, the link for which is expired or invalid.
Most of its tweets are in English, with the exception of a few recent ones written in Ukrainian. It uses a photo of Zelenska and her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as its avatar.
The account’s pinned tweet, which Zelenska included in her Instagram post, seeks cryptocurrency donations in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Tether. Most of its tweets do the same.
On March 1, when someone asked how to donate to the cause, it replied, “If you can help through bitcoin or any cryptocurrencies, banks here are not operating because of the war.”
That day, Reuters reported that the banks in Ukraine were “running smoothly.”
Commenters apparently believe the account, which has 9,000 followers, is authentic.
“So inspiring! We must do more!” replied one who tagged President Joe Biden.
Another said they’d be “happy to give” provided the donations were trackable.
On Wednesday, the account tweeted a portion of Zelenskyy’s speech to the United States Congress. Followers commented with statements of support.
Some of its posts mimic those of the real Zelenska, who has used social media to reveal the harsh realities of Russia’s invasion of her country. When people reply to ask what they can do to help, it solicits crypto donations.
In Zelenska’s Instagram post calling out the account, she implored her followers to only donate in “trusted channels.”
