Santander anticipates an 87% increase in instances in 2022 compared to last year based on the present trend of these crimes.
“We’re seeing a disturbing rise in ‘celebrity-endorsed’ cryptocurrency scams, where recognized personalities are being misused on social media to defraud individuals out of frequently life-changing sums of money,” said Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander UK.
People who were conned by these highly skilled thieves are losing a lot of money instead of enjoying the big profits that were promised.
Regardless of who is supporting an investment opportunity, always do your homework and properly examine it before moving any money.
A cryptocurrency fraud that falsely claimed to be backed by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was brought to light in January.
Online stories falsely claimed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had supported schemes involving Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading. These posts included images of the pair as well as fabricated interviews to support their claims.
People are making millions of dollars from home by following Harry and Meghan’s latest advise, according to one of the phony headlines.
According to the Financial Conduct Authority, a number of famous people, including Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, and artist Ed Sheeran, are being utilized in quick-money schemes.
Various other well-known names The hosts of This Morning Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield as well as Martin Lewis of Moneysavingexpert have all been falsely quoted as endorsing trading programs.
In an effort to make the investment program seem more legitimate, Holly Willoughby was featured in the advertisement on the website Exercise Tips.
Another instance included a Facebook user going by the name of Mister Flapjack who posted a picture of Willoughby along with the fictitious statement: “My mother was very frightened, even though I kept on convincing him that this was actually good for me.”
Fraudsters frequently trick victims into giving them money by fabricating remarks from Dragons’ Den investors.
Australian celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Chris Hemsworth, and Celeste Barber have been the target of false claims that they are endorsing cryptocurrencies, with one Sydney man reportedly losing $100,000 as a result.
Scams may entail consumers seeing a celebrity who looks to be promoting bitcoin online, or they may be led to a cryptocurrency “investment opportunity” by another social media user.
To learn more, the customer clicks a link and provides their contact information.
After that, they receive calls, emails, or messages on social media with offers of large profits with “little to no risk.” Fraudsters frequently employ aggressive sales techniques.
To help people open bitcoin accounts, they are instructed to download specialized software. The fraudster has complete access to the customer’s PC thanks to the remote access software.
The client creates bitcoin accounts and funds them.
The victim is then unable to access their money since the fraudster has frozen access to the account and taken control of it.
The City of London Police Commander Clinton Blackburn stated: “Celebrity endorsements are only one method thieves may advertise phony schemes online.
“People shouldn’t be duped by pictures of luxury goods like pricey watches and cars, or by posts on social media depicting opulent lifestyles, which are frequently exploited to urge people to invest,” the statement reads.
Santander advised anyone who has fallen victim to a cryptocurrency scam to notify their bank right away.
Customers should turn off, unplug, and wait to use their computers until the program has been deleted and it has been reviewed by a computer professional if they have downloaded software that is supposed to aid with the investment.
The bank is warning customers that just because a cryptocurrency investment looks to have the endorsement of a famous person, it does not necessarily indicate the endorsement is true or that the investment is a good one.
It advised against accepting unsolicited investment offers, whether they were offered over the phone or on social media.
Additionally, they should search for the company on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) website to ensure they are a true, registered business and not an unregistered, clone, or fake.
ScamSmart is an online tool provided by the FCA that assists users in determining whether an investment is a fraud.