Scammers Impersonating Celebrities ‘Will Double This Year’: Report

A report by UK-based newspaper The Telegraph states that scammers impersonating celebrities – scams featuring fake celebrities – are going to double this year. Crypto Scams Feat Celebs Will Double This Year Santander UK, a retail bank with a global presence, has predicted that crypto scams using fake celebrities have risen by 60 percent since the end of last year, with the bank predicting an increase of 87 percent this year. According to the bank, the average victim has lost over $14,000 to “celebrity-endorsed” scams in the first three months of this year, an increase of 65 percent during the same period in 2021, per the bank. UK’s financial journalist Martin Lewis, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and television presenter Holly Willoughby are among the common names to be used by fraudsters to con the naive investors. For instance, a Santander customer was conned by an advert for cryptocurrency investments falsely claiming to be endorsed by Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert. “Scamming my face and brand is a deliberate perversion of my life’s work helping consumers become financially savvy and protecting themselves,” Lewis told the Telegraph. How Do Such Scams Work? Scams involving celebrities work by a victim clicking on a link and sharing their contact details to find out more. They are then contacted by phone, email, or social media and offered high returns with “little or no risk.” They are told to download some special kind...