Beware of online frauds in the name of celebrities

The Romanian Police announces, on Saturday, that it has been informed about the existence of new ways of committing online fraud, by the suspects assuming the identity of public figures and determining the injured persons to invest in fake products or investment funds.

Through this method, also known as the “celebrity impersonating scam”, the suspects use the images and names of public figures or Romanian or international celebrities, in order to attract people to invest in fake products or investment funds.

The modus operandi of this scam can vary, but it usually starts with promoting an investment that is linked to a well-known celebrity, to make people believe that the investment is safe and profitable.

Suspects may use various means to contact people, such as fake websites, online ads, social media messages, or spam emails.

For example, messages may promote business investments, stock market shares, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, or other types of investments that would be related to that celebrity. These may be presented as get-rich-quick offers or as exclusive products or services that would only be available for a limited time.

To convince people to invest, suspects may use various tactics, such as presenting false statements, testimonials, assurances of quick and large profits, emotional manipulation or pressure to make a quick and immediate decision.

Thus, the injured persons are determined either to feed, through bank transfer, or to directly transfer cryptocurrencies to addresses controlled by the suspects.

There are cases where the injured persons are convinced to install remote control applications on fixed or mobile terminals, with the help of which the suspects direct them to create accounts on various cryptocurrency trading platforms, after which the transfers of funds, both FIAT (the respective amount of money , for example: lei, euros, dollars, etc.), as well as crypto, are carried out, in some cases, without the consent of the victims, through the unauthorized use of authentication data.

“Given these considerations, it is important that citizens be vigilant and carefully research any investment opportunity before investing real money, and at the same time, be very cautious when contacted by such a person and not don’t be fooled by get-rich-quick promises. We also recommend paying special attention to investment platforms that promise high returns in a very short time. This is a way to attract as many get-rich-quick people as possible. By this method of deception, called , the invested money is lost entirely. Before making an investment decision, carefully research the platform, check the feedback of other investors and consult with a specialist in the field (financial consultant)”, reports IGPR.

Particular attention should be paid mainly to investment funds that promise a guaranteed return, as no investment carries any risk, and before investing in a fund, interested persons should understand the risks and carefully analyze past performance of him.

“It is important to place the sums of money in investment funds that are authorized by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) and that present real information about investment financial assets. At the same time, on the website of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) you can identify the section “Investor Alerts – Information” and the section “Attention to Unauthorized Entities!” information about possible funds that aim to deceive investors or about unauthorized or untrustworthy funds”, informs the quoted source.