Technology

59658 readers

2705 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

728

Elon Musk Fans Are Losing So Much Money to Crypto Scams (gizmodo.com)

submitted 4 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

82 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Gizmodo filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the FTC to get complaints sent to the federal agency about crypto scams that pretend to be affiliated with Musk. We obtained 247 complaints, all filed between Feb. and Oct. of this year, and they’re filled with stories of people who believed they were watching ads for authentic crypto investments sanctioned by Musk on social media.

The ads sometimes featured the names of Musk’s various companies, like SpaceX, Tesla, and X, while other times they utilized Musk’s association with neo-fascist presidential candidate Donald Trump.

...

Some people in the complaints believed they were talking directly with Musk, a sadly common story that has popped up in news reports before. But they weren’t talking with Musk, of course. They were communicating with scammers engaging in what’s called pig butchering—the name for a type of fraud popularized in the mid-2010s where scammers extract as much money as possible through flattery and promises of tremendous profits if the victim just “invests” where they’re told.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Sure, the scams like pig butchering look dumb from the outside, but never think shit like this can't happen to you. There's TONs of ways scammers can trick you, but usually they'll seek out vulnerable people. Sure the gullible are vulnerable, but just because you're not vulnerable right now, doesn't mean you won't be at some point in the future. Desperation can make scholars into fools.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Can agree. I used to think I was savvy enough to avoid getting scammed, until I followed a link that a person who was pretending to be a mechanic gave me to purchase parts for my car. I ended up spending $1300 on parts that didn't exist.

Long story short, I eventually got my money back after arguing with my bank's fraud department for several months. I wish I could afford a lawyer so I could sue this guy for pain and suffering + the thousands I spent in Uber/Lyft/Waymo getting to work while I didn't have a car.