Celebrity-Endorsed Crypto Scams Soaring in UK, Santander Says (bloomberg.com) 24
Celebrity-endorsed cryptocurrency scams in the UK are on pace to almost double this year, Banco Santander SA's local unit said. From a report: "Case volumes" jumped 61% in the first quarter from the prior three months, Santander said in a statement on its website on Tuesday. The average value of the scams was $14,540, up 65% from a year earlier. Around $2.4 million was lost to such schemes in the quarter, according to the bank. "We're seeing a worrying rise in 'celebrity-endorsed' cryptocurrency scams, where familiar faces are being misused on social media in order to con people out of often life-changing sums of money," said Chris Ainsley, Santander UK's head of fraud risk management, said in the statement. Crypto scams are getting increased attention as regulators and politicians grapple with how to encourage technological innovation while at the same time protecting unsuspecting consumers. Santander said it expects the number of celebrity-endorsed crypto scams to rise 87% in 2022 based on the current rate of growth.
Re: (Score:3)
sed "s/The way things are currently//"
Re: (Score:2)
The way things are currently cryptocurrencies themselves are a scam.
They always were, because they never had a working plan for how they would accomplish their goals, just a lot of hand waving.
The fundamental problem with stores of value is that if they are backed by nothing, then they are worthless. People like to complain that the US dollar is backed up by force but that's what makes it valuable. Any time you create a store of value, someone will try to take it away from you. Nobody is credibly going to invade the USA, so the fact that the dollar's backed up with the worl
And the victims hate us for protecting them. (Score:2)
We have the facts, so we can clearly and objectively see that these are scams that make a tiny few people rich and totally rip-off everyone else. So, we naturally want to protect the uneducated from these scams, so they don't get ripped off (and there is some self-interest here, since widespread massive rip-offs of the lower and middle classes can cause devastating economic fallout).
But, the uneducated don't think these are scams. They see these as a way to beat the system and get the wealth they have alw
Re: (Score:2)
What's really bananas is that you don't need to be a finance expert to see how cryptocurrencies are scams. You only need the 10,000 foot overview. Assertion, crypto is superior to fiat currencies because they are backed by nothing. Inconvenient fact, crypto is the kind of currency backed by nothing, fiat currencies are backed by rough men with guns. Conclusion, crypto hawkers are scammers since their whole premise is false.
What's sad is that it's true that current currency systems have big flaws, but it's a
Re: (Score:2)
If they were a scam, then how come so many people that drive better cars than you do are all in to cryptocurrency
Because they're successful scammers. That was a fucking stupid question. Let's see what other spectacularly stupid shit you said...
People don't earn Lambos, Masaradis, or Ferraris because they are stupid.
Irrelevant and orthogonal. I remember having this same argument with maybe a different coward, maybe it was you, definitely on this site, before. People earn Lambos, Masaradis[sic], or Ferraris because other people are stupid, but they can be stupid, too. Look at all these jocks who have Lambos, Masaratis, or Ferraris for a while, then they later have nothing. Are they geniuses,
Re: (Score:2)
Good points, no do the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury.
Celebs don't care. (Score:2)
Celebs don't care, they just want the money for doing the gig. The business could be selling ground-up panda carcasses as a new nutritional supplement and they wouldn't bat an eyelash.
The problem is however, idiots will buy what Celebs push. Look at the ecosystem around the Kardashians. These people do nothing except create drama and intrigue around their personal lives, yet millions follow their antics. If Kim Kardashian started selling ad space on her ass, you can bet there'd be millions of horny dudes al
Re: (Score:2)
Celebs don't care, they just want the money for doing the gig.
They probably don't even understand what they are trying to sell you.
If you're an actor, it's your job to pretend to be something that you're not. This should make them the worst choice ever for selling things to people, but the people are generally pretty stupid.
Re:Celebs don't care. (Score:4, Informative)
The scams in the UK are more likely to be being falsely peddled as being endorsed by "celebs". For example the crypto scams I have seen being peddled to me in the UK are almost invariably by Martin Lewis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] who sued Facebook in 2018 for allowing the adverts to be placed on their platform. Never seen those personally as I have never used Facebook but I have seen them in emails and Google ads.
You are going to get far more traction with any sort of financial scam using Martin Lewis a well known financial journalist with an OBE and CBE in the UK than with some "internet influencer".
I have also seen obviously fraudulently pushed (aka the person involved was not actually involved) schemes by Richard Branson and Elon Musk. In Australia Andrew Forest is suing Facebook again for the same reason.
Re: (Score:2)
Celebs don't care, they just want the money for doing the gig.
When the average fan of said celebrity loses thirty bucks after trying to endure one of their shitty movies, or buying shitty celebrity makeup, it's dismissed as no big deal.
When that same fan loses thirty grand after following said celebrity financial advice, the impact is considerably different. That celebrity is going to care about the backlash.
If people are dumb enough to invest because "celebrity", then they're certainly dumb enough to initiate a complete boycott of that celebrity after losing a hell
Re: (Score:2)
The only thing the "celeb" will care about is if they're getting their cut or not.
Re: (Score:2)
The only thing the "celeb" will care about is if they're getting their cut or not.
Every narcissist cares about the spotlight. When that dims on them prematurely, they care. Their value...their very existence in this world, depends on that spotlight.
"Celebs", are the worst kinds of narcissists. They only earn a paycheck through their popularity. When no one gives a shit about them anymore, that includes those signing checks.
Make Money, No work, No Risk, No Value = Scam (Score:2)
While a lot of Laborers who are barely making a living out of having 2 full time jobs, probably see Middle Class White Collar workers as Making more money for less work and general risk. As well the Which Collar workers probably see the same with the Exec. We in general see our lives as doing something wrong because others have it better then us.
These Scams are often easy to get people, because it plays on their general insecurities about life. Because sure if I jumped onto Bitcoins when we could mine the
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. All the really good investments have the problem that they cannot be predicted and they could all have easily gone the other way. People that do not understand that are easy prey for the scammers.
Trusting, in Professional Liars. (Score:3)
It's quite incredible that many-with-money doesn't trust a professional when it comes to investing, but they'll gladly dump their hard-earned money into whatever a professional liar (a.k.a. "actor") tells them to invest in?
The only responsible thing to do, is laugh at them. In hopes they'll learn something. If investing only required a pretty face, every model would own every investment firm.
Professional hard-scammers... on Facebook. (Score:3)
TFS misstates the issue. Celebrities are purely incidental decor and not involved personally.
The actual culprits are, once again, "social media" - i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram... [leaderlive.co.uk]
Scams may involve people seeing a celebrity appearing to be advertising cryptocurrency online, or they may be introduced via another social media user to a crypto "investment opportunity", which appears to be endorsed by someone famous.
The customer clicks on a link and shares their contact details to find out more.
They are then contacted by phone, email or social media, and offered high returns with "little or no risk". Fraudsters often use high-pressure sales tactics.
They are told to download specialist software to support them opening cryptocurrency accounts.
The software is remote access software, giving the fraudster full access to the customer's computer.
The customer opens cryptocurrency accounts and deposits money in them.
The fraudster then freezes access, and takes over the customer's account, leaving the victim unable to access their money.
I.e. Celebrities used in advertisements are neither profiting from nor scamming people - scams are facilitated by scammers paying "social media" to advertise their scams.
The whole thing is branded as a "celebrities issue" cause a well known Dick, Branson, complained about his mug being used in such scams - the issue probably b
Re: (Score:2)
Martin Lewis sued Facebook back in 2018 over the issue and it still goes on. Far more notable than Branson on a financial scam in the UK. I also think that suggesting that Branson complaint is that he is not getting any money out the scam shows that you are full of shit rather than him. The suggestion that he would like to profit from fraud is liable.
I would also note that this sort of thing is not restricted to the UK, in Australia Andrew Forest is suing Facebook again for the same reason.
Symptom of Late Stage Crypto (Score:2)
The proliferation of crypto operations hiring celebrities is a symptom the crypto bubble moving into is last stages. To keep money flowing into scam, err "ecosystem", they need to get the word out to the non-tech-engaged person-in-the-street to send their hard earned dollars into the scam. This is hoovering up the dumb money that has been so dumb that it did not know until now how to get caught up in the scam.
Re: (Score:2)
I agree. The problem is that none of the crypto-people have ever made any valid long-term plans. (Well, the Ether people may have, but all the gambling and criminal use has killed them pretty effectively.) So now that the pyramid is slowly collapsing, they find themselves unprepared for it and try whatever they can to keep things going longer. Of course they are just delaying the inevitable. And of course all attempts to give the appearance that crypto-"currencies" are a long-term thing and not just a very
dollar is depreciating, people look for exits (Score:2)
If getting off crypto mattered, then the government should make currency that people will value.