Australia’s ‘Barefoot Investor’ takes on crypto scammers stealing his likeness

As a seasoned crypto investor and financial educator with my own share of battles against fraudsters, I can confidently say that the crypto world can be both exhilarating and treacherous. The recent encounter with impostors who tried to scam me and my followers serves as yet another reminder of the need for vigilance in this dynamic space.

Scott Pape, a renowned Australian financial advisor famously called “The Barefoot Investor,” recently shared his experience with combating crypto swindlers who impersonated him and tricked his supporters.

On December 23, as reported by The Australian, Pape stated that he and his team had uncovered and reported numerous false Facebook groups, which were created to resemble him, with the intention of tricking individuals into participating in fraudulent schemes.

Rather than letting Facebook handle the removal of these groups, fearing that more scams might spread during that time, Pape chose to interact directly with the scammers and explain the steps they typically follow.

In the realm of digital currencies, I found myself ensnared by impostors on Facebook, posing as experts and enticing me with promises of investment assistance under an assumed identity.

Not long after engaging with a false Facebook account, he received a request for his mobile number and an invitation to join a private WhatsApp group titled “DB Wealth Institute,” which claimed to be exclusive.

According to Pape, he swiftly conducted a Google search on DB Wealth Institute, discovering a sequence of automated news articles related to the “financial investment company.” Some of these pieces were distributed to platforms like Yahoo Finance, Forbes, and LinkedIn.

In a press release, it was mentioned that DB Wealth Institute, established in 2011 by Professor Cillian Miller, delivers hands-on financial education and created ‘AI Financial Navigator 4.0,’ a cutting-edge tool that combines AI technology with large datasets to optimize trading tactics. As of 2024, the institute had educated over 30,000 students hailing from more than ten different countries.

According to Pape, additional investigation uncovered numerous American regulatory bodies and financial overseers who had previously issued warnings about phony “cryptocurrency training institutions” offering trading guidance through WhatsApp.

In such scams, a supposed “trading expert” generates fraudulent trading tips for the members to invest in collectively. Meanwhile, an accomplice interacts with investors. When sufficient funds are accumulated, the entire operation disappears, renames itself, and then sets its sights on new unsuspecting victims.

Pape shared that his phone was constantly abuzz with notifications, receiving more than two hundred messages daily on WhatsApp from an enthusiastic crowd showcasing their diverse victories in cryptocurrency trading.

Every day at 11 am, the professor would provide his trading signals. Members were invited to share pictures of their earnings from these trades in our WhatsApp group, with some individuals posting continuously, day and night. It was Pape’s belief that these persistent posters might not be human traders but automated bots instead.

According to his statement, Pape followed the recommendation of his assistant “Ally” who suggested a 100-fold long position on an altcoin based on trading signals provided by a professor. In just ten minutes, he realized an impressive 81% profit.

“There are three steps that make up these scams: the first step is confidence. The second step is greed. And the final — and most lucrative of all for the scammers — is fear.”

Following his acquisition of some funds, Pape expressed that the swindlers promptly became aggressive, with assistant Ally flooding him with numerous messages inquiring about his investment amount and urging him to apply for a loan to participate in one of their premium investment schemes.

A short while after, the Professor announced their ‘collaboration initiatives,’ tailored according to your investment level. The range began at $20,000 and stretched as high as $5 million, as stated in his message.

However, it was here that Pape detonated the device, explaining that he had gained this knowledge not just from his personal experiences, but also from assisting previous victims of similar cons. This is a common tactic employed by such scams.

In such a situation where you discover that you’ve been victimized by theft, unscrupulous individuals may exploit your urgency, frequently persuading you to take out loans under the pretext of recouping your lost funds.

“It’s a little-known fact that the biggest losses happen after you realize you’ve been scammed.”

Pape, renowned for being Australia’s top-selling writer on investment and finance, is now commonly known as “The Barefoot Investor” due to the success of his book with the same title.

As a researcher delving into the realm of cryptocurrencies, I’ve observed an alarming trend in 2024 – the surge of scams, exploits, and hacks. A recent study by Chainalysis, a leading blockchain surveillance firm, sheds light on this issue, revealing that a staggering $2.2 billion was lost to such incidents in 2024, marking a significant 21% rise from the $1.8 billion lost in 2023.

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2024-12-23 05:49