Europol confirms $50,000 Qilin ransomware reward is fake

Europol has confirmed that a Telegram channel impersonating the agency and offering a $50,000 reward for information on two Qilin ransomware administrators is fake. The impostor later admitted it was created to troll researchers and journalists.

"We were also surprised to see this story gaining traction," Europol told BleepingComputer on Monday. "The announcement didn't come from us."

The statement comes after a new Telegram channel called @europolcti was created on August 16th, claiming to offer a $50,000 reward for information on two Qilin ransomware admins known as "Haise" and "XORacle".

"During the course of ongoing international investigations, we have confirmed that the cybercriminal group Qilin has carried out ransomware attacks worldwide, severely disrupting critical infrastruct