By Aaron Miller-
Impersonators of Elon Musk have swindled over $2 million from cryptocurrency scams over the past six months, data from the FTC reveals.
Scammers, who reply to Mr Musk and sometimes mimic through the rebranding other verified accounts, have deceived users by offering them a return the cryptocurrency two times over any bitcoin they send.
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Over 6,000 people have reported losses of over $80 million in various cryptocurrency scams since October 2020, losing on average just under $1900 each time, 12 times over in the number of reports and 1000 per cent greater in financial theft.
The multiple scams is reminder of the lengths to which scammers can go to achieve their illegitimate aims. Acting on the back of successful names is just one of their many ploys.
A statement from the FTC says; “Some say there’s a Wild West vibe to the crypto culture, and an element of mystery too. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts congregate online to chat about their shared passion. And with bitcoin’s value soaring in recent months, new investors may be eager to get in on the action. All of this plays right into the hands of scammers. They blend into the scene with claims that can seem plausible because cryptocurrency is unknown territory for many people”.
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“Online, people may appear to be friendly and willing to share their ‘tips.’ But that can also be part of the ruse to get people to invest in their scheme. In fact, some of these schemes are based on referral chains, and work by bringing in people who then recruit new ‘investors.’”
Not only have cryptocurrency scammers pretended to be Elon Musk, many have impersonated government authorities and well-known businesses such as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The FTC adds that 14 per cent of all reported losses to imposters are now in cryptocurrency.
Mr Musk recently crashed the cryptocurrency market after announcing that Tesla would not be accepting bitcoin in payment for Tesla vehicles, only two months after encouraging users to do the opposite.
The genius entrepreneur businessman has not been so clever of late in his public pronouncements, and has rather created some business chaos without quite meaning to.
Musk, who previously held the second spot at the Bloomberg Billionaires Index since March, has been outstripped by Bernard Arnault, chairman of the world’s biggest luxury goods group LVMH.
The billionaire’s company Tesla has taken a hit in its stock value by 2.2 per cent on top of last week’s 15 per cent slump, in consistent with the global rout in technology stocks.
Mr Musk was already on the third spot on Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List since mid-April but still held the second spot at Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
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