Fact CheckedLast Updated on January 3, 2021 by Stephan Lindburg
News Flash, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not using a new Bitcoin Wealth Loophole which generates millions for them on auto-pilot. Its a scam and confirmed get-rich-quick scheme so don’t join! Today we have decided to address the issue of fake news and the use of fake celebrity endorsements for promotional purposes which is done in the most misleading and deceptive way. We identified this problem as the main driving force behind most of the crypto get-rich-quick schemes which are plaguing the internet these days. In this context, we believe that in order to combat the scams it’s critical for us and our viewers to try and look at how con artists operate from different perspectives whilst trying to focus on the money trail. Specifically regarding our members in the United Kingdom and Australia, it’s important to understand that scammers are using text ads on search engines and in most cases these advertisements say something like “Turn £250 into £5,401 In 24 Hours”.
If you click these ads, in most cases you will be diverted into a fake or “cloaked” news website. Many of these sites try to present themselves as the genuine Mirror or Sun websites, where you can see celebrities like Martin Lewis bragging about how they found an “easy way to make money online using Bitcoin”. Alternatively, it’s quite possible you stumbled into something which is called a native ad. Native ads are kind of “boxes” which are usually present at the end of an article and seem to be an organic or “native” part of the website you are surfing. However, these little boxes are really sponsored advertisements which are designed to catch your eye using very visually appealing images such as money or a big yacht.
In other cases our researchers have stumbled on to something which is referred to as a spoofed website which appears on search engines after viewers look for “ways to make money online” or similar queries. In professional terms these websites are referred to as doorway pages. Meaning they are not real and as soon as you click on them you are referred to another website. Excessive spamming and fake reviews are also commonly used with scammers, however these types of marketing tactics don’t usually use fake celebrity endorsements. All of these marketing tactics represent a partial list of how scammers bait unsuspecting victims, but fake celebrity endorsements are the most common these days and this trend will not abate any time soon. In fact, judging by the complaints we have been receiving, this baiting tactic is only increasing in popularity with scammers because it is very effective. In our special investigative report we shall attempt to explain why we believe celebrity-based scams tend to be highly effective. So keep reading and if you believe you are one of these victims let us know by leaving a message below.
Why Are Celebrity-Based Scams So Effective?
From a psychological perspective people tend to believe celebrities because they are able to build a high degree of empathy and for that reason perceived as trustworthy. In other words, many of us relate to celebrities or high-profile public figures on a personal basis, and it is that level of perceived closeness which “opens the door” and causes fans or for that matter anyone to be more receptive and act based on their advise. Now, if a person like Bear Grylls, Gordon Ramsay, or Richard Branson recommends a certain product or service, you can be sure it will make a lot of waves and many people will definitely make a purchase based on this type of advise or endorsement.
Who Is Really Stirring The Pot Here?
The staff and management at ScamCryptoRobots.com has made a point of explaining in detail who is responsible for actively promoting the scams every time we expose a new fraudulent software. In each and every case we have examined and investigated on our website, we have found out that the masterminds or culprits who are pulling the strings behind the scenes and directly profiting by looting money from unsuspecting victims are CFD (contract for difference) brokers who are operating in tandem with affiliate networks. Some of these brokers are offshoots of the deceased binary options industry which has largely gone underground after being targeted by the FBI and other government agencies. In other cases, we are simply seeing new operators who don’t really care much for regulations or accountability. The common denominator with all of these dodgy operations is that they all use the same technological platforms which are known as turnkey or white-label solutions.
From a business perspective one could make an analogy to the airline industry. To illustrate, if you are an airline company you would need to buy an airplane from Boeing or Airbus for example. Once you purchase the airplane you would need passengers to fly, so you could either sell directly to the public or use travel agents or websites which are used by most people today to book flights and hotels. So clarify, the tech platform is Boeing or Airbus for all intents and purposes. The airlines are the actual CFD brokers, and the affiliates or affiliate networks could be equated to the travel agents who attract paying passengers to their websites or brick and mortar shops and collect a commission based on a deal they settled previously.
Let’s Talk About The Victims Now
In this unique investigative report we have collected pictures and interviews from victims who have been previously scammed. If we take a look at the image below we can see the end result of what happens to people who have fallen victims to crypto scams. The two women below have both been completely ripped off and robbed by unethical offshore brokers who have since then disappeared and most likely re-opened under a different name. The woman on the left is Anne Robertson (67). Anne is a single mom who unwittingly provided her bank details to offshore scammers who fleeced her pensioner’s bank account and left her unable to pay her bills.
The second victim is named Frances Foster, who is a 75 year old woman living in the UK. She was illegally solicited by a broker named LTC Markets, which claimed to be a listed Swiss company. Frances started off investing £250, but eventually lost £11,000. Through our website we receive countless complaints similar to these from people all over the world, and we believe its important to get their stories out so our viewers understand what they could be getting into when investing.
The Classic SCAM
Below you will see a screenshot of a website named Bitcoin Up. We have exposed this cloned website here on our website, and we can honestly say that these days Bitcoin Up and scams similar to in are being very aggressively promoted by media agencies and affiliate networks who are using various black hat (spam) websites to gain positive exposure on search engines such as Google or Bing.
Don’t Trust TrustPilot Reviews!
It’s equally important to point our that spammers are now using TrustPilot (excessively) to promote scams. TrustPilot is perceived as a reliable source for reviews, and spammers are using it to “protect” their websites’ online integrity and whitelist it with search engines.
This trend is growing with certain networks who specialize in search engine optimization, and they have partnered with various media agencies who do the actual advertising. The deal benefits both sides as the media agency realizes that a certain percentage of their customers will be gobbled up by fake review websites. But, they still prefer this over getting totally blacklisted by watchdog websites like ours and losing all their customers. We have actually attempted to contact TrustPilot and advise them that companies like Facebook and Google are cracking down on fake CFD advertisements due to their misleading nature. But we received no response as of yet. We have also spotted spam activity in various forums as well as Reddit, so please make sure to factor this in as well when doing your fact-checking.
Bitcoin Fraud Statistics
According to the FCA, in the United Kingdom alone over £27 million were reported as lost or stolen in crypto and CFD investment scams during 2019. Now, many (if not most) people don’t report stolen cryptocurrencies because doing so means exposure to tax authorities. So in our humble estimate, we believe this figure to represent roughly 10% of the real money stolen in cryptocurrencies. Some experts claim that our estimation is very moderate.
Types Of Bitcoin Scams
Our researchers complied a list which comprises of various types of Bitcoin scams. Please make sure to go through it before investing to see if your are being targeted by scammers.
- ICO’s or Initial Coin Offerings: Scammers create a fictitious coin which does not exist and sell it to the public. In return they charge the buyers real cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. By the time people start to catch on the scammers have already fled the scene and disappeared with their loot.
- HYIP’s or High Yield Investment Programs: This is a type of Ponzi scheme. Which means new investors pay the returns of previous investors with their money.
- CFD Scams: Contracts for Difference or Forex scams are basically brokers which may or may not be licensed who accept customers based on fake or exaggerated claims of easy money.
- Pyramid Schemes: This is when members get paid according to how many new members they are able to recruit and regardless of profit margins.
There are other scams as well but these are the ones we have found to be most prevalent. It’s also important to point out that we are getting more complaints about victims being baited by scammers with fake Facebook, Telegram, or Instagram profiles. So please make sure to go through a credible review website before investing and do some proper research.
Short List Of Celebrities Which Are Commonly Used To Promote Scams
We have tried to cover as many celebrities as we can, so this is our partial list: Paul McCartney, Michael D. Higgins, Akshay Phillips, Rob Brydon, Members of the Dragons’ Den such as Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden, This Morning Show With Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, Jim Davidson, Kate Winslet, Mike Hosking, Teeka Tiwari, The Project Bitcoin, Dick Smith, and Celeste Barber.
Viral Scams Trending
We are constantly being asked what are the biggest scams which are trending these days? Well, there are many but recently we have seen Crypto Engine, Bitcoin Champion, and Immediate Edge gaining popularity with scammers.
How To Avoid The Scams (Red Flags)
First rule is as always, if it sounds to good to be true it usually is. Second rule is ALWAYS do your research, but not too much otherwise you will just end up burdened by a barrage of irrelevant information which will hinder your decision-making process. Finally, try asking a friend or relative. In most cases you will receive a genuine response from people you know and trust.
