Thousands Of Trump Followers Tricked By Scammers
Scammers have hijacked a new crypto project endorsed by Donald Trump, deceiving tens of thousands of people with promises of fake cryptocurrency giveaways.
The project, known as World Liberty Financial, has drawn significant attention, amassing over 230,000 subscribers to its official Telegram channel since its launch last month.
Despite its rapid growth, the platform has provided little information about its mission or operations, other than a vague commitment to challenging the power of big banks.
Cybercriminals have infiltrated a popular venture’s official channel by running ads on a rival Telegram channel to exploit the growing interest in the project. This deceptive move has already attracted over 70,000 Telegram users.
The fraudulent channel, named ‘World Liberty Financial Airdrop,’ falsely promises up to $15,000 worth of cryptocurrency to users who connect their crypto wallets. However, connecting a wallet as instructed could potentially expose all the funds within it. It’s unclear how many of the channel’s subscribers have been scammed so far.
The Independent has reached out to Telegram for further details and comments. This comes shortly after the platform’s CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France last week as part of an investigation into cybercrime and the platform’s moderation practices.
In response to the scam, the official World Liberty Financial Telegram channel issued a warning about the fake channel. They also updated their bio on X (formerly Twitter) to caution followers against “scams, fake tokens, and airdrop offers” currently circulating on the Elon Musk-owned platform.
“On Thursday, August 29th, an important alert was posted in the official Telegram channel of World Liberty Financial. The message warned users about fraudulent ads circulating on the platform, falsely claiming to be from the company and offering fake airdrops or token sales.
‘We’ve noticed some ads on Telegram that are pretending to be from us, offering bogus airdrops or token sales,’ the message read. ‘Please avoid clicking on any ads or links that claim to be connected to World Liberty Financial. We are not conducting any airdrops or selling any tokens at this time.’
Despite this clear warning, a fake ad promoting a ‘World Liberty Financial Airdrop’ has remained prominently displayed on the channel for four days without being taken down.
In a separate event, World Liberty Financial celebrated reaching 100,000 subscribers by launching a meme contest. Hundreds of participants shared images, gifs, and videos in support of Mr.
Trump’s bid to return to the White House. However, some used this platform to criticize the official project, calling it a scam, while others dismissed it as the ‘latest grift’ from the billionaire.“
In recent months, Mr. Trump has dubbed himself the “crypto president,” pledging to establish a “national bitcoin stockpile” and create a “crypto presidential advisory council” if he secures victory in the upcoming November election.
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