When Scammers Play Premier: A Tale of Tokens and Tweets

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that a scoundrel in possession of a grey checkmark must be in want of a gullible audience. Such was the case when a nefarious individual, masquerading as none other than David Burt, the esteemed Premier of Bermuda, took to the X social media platform to peddle a counterfeit token dubbed “Bermuda National Coin.” 🕵️‍♂️

The imposter’s profile, adorned with the coveted grey checkmark—reserved for the crème de la crème of government officials—boasted a mere 45 posts, the earliest of which was curiously dated February 2, 2025. How very forward-thinking of them! Meanwhile, the genuine Mr. Burt, with his blue checkmark, 6,245 posts, and a modest following of 12,200, has been gracing the platform since July 2014. One might say the scammer’s ambition outstripped their attention to detail. 😏

On the fateful day of February 14, Premier Burt, ever vigilant, became aware of this charade and promptly warned the public of the malicious actor. In a move that could only be described as delightfully modern, he tagged both the platform and Elon Musk in a post, beseeching them to address the matter. “Not sure how they got a grey verification badge, but people will get scammed due to the lack of controls on this app. Please fix,” he wrote, with a tone that suggested he was not amused. 🧐

Alas, despite the Premier’s valiant efforts, the fraudulent profile remained active at the time of this writing, a testament to the recent surge in memecoin and token scams involving heads of state and other notable entities. One might wonder if the scammers have been reading too much Austen, for their audacity knows no bounds. 😤

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Javier Milei, the President of Argentina, found himself embroiled in a token-related scandal of his own. Following the release of the Official TRUMP memecoin, debates raged about the utility of political memecoins and their potential to revolutionize capital formation. Amidst this fervor, Milei promoted a token project called Viva La Libertad in a now-deleted X post. The initiative, purportedly launched to aid startups and local businesses, featured a token called Libra (LIBRA).

However, the token’s value plummeted by over 95% within hours of its launch, leading to accusations of a $107 million rug pull and insider trading. Milei, perhaps sensing the winds of public opinion shifting, swiftly distanced himself from the project. “I was not aware of the details of the project and after having become aware of it I decided not to continue spreading the word—that is why I deleted the tweet,” he wrote in a translated post on February 14. One might say his enthusiasm for the project was as fleeting as the token’s value. 💸

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2025-02-16 00:29