‘All too easy’ — Crypto researcher’s fake Ponzi raises $100,000 in hours
Crypto influencer FatManTerra claims to have collected over $100,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from crypto investors in an investment scheme that was later revealed to be bogus.
The crypto researcher said he created the fake investment scheme as an experiment and to teach people a lesson about blindly following the investment advice of influencers.
The account on Twitter has around 101,100 followers and is best known for being a former Terra campaigner who is now actively speaking out against the project and its founder Do Kwon after its $40 billion collapse in May.
In a September 5 tweet, FatManTerra told his followers that he had “received access to a high-yield BTC farm” from an unnamed fund, and said people could message him if they wanted in on the yield farming opportunity.
“I’ve maxed out what I could so there’s some residual funding and I thought I’d pass it on – UST victims will be prioritized. DM for more info if interested,” he wrote.
While the post got a ton of negatives answers from people calling it a scam, FatMan said he still managed to raise more than $100,000 worth of BTC from the first post on Twitter and on Discord within two hours.
In a September 6 tweet, FatManTerra revealed that the investment scheme was fake all along, describing it as an “awareness campaign” to show how easy it is to trick people into crypto by using simple buzzwords and promising big investment returns.
“While I used a lot of buzzwords and put on a very convincing act on all platforms, I made sure to keep the investment details intentionally vague – I didn’t name the fund and I didn’t describe the trade – no one knew where the dividends were coming from. But people still invested.”
“I want to send a clear, strong message to everyone in the crypto world – anyone who offers you free money is lying. It simply does not exist. Your favorite influencer who sells you quick money trading coaching or offers a golden investment opportunity is deceiving you, » he added.
It is far too easy to fool people in crypto.
And this must change.
If you don’t understand where the ROI comes from, you are the ROI.
Listen carefully to the vocal critics of any project or investment before getting involved. *Really* listen.
— FatMan (@FatManTerra) 5 September 2022
FatManTerra claims to have refunded all the money and reiterated that “free lunches do not exist.”
The notion of influencers allegedly promoting scams has been in the news recently, with YouTuber Ben Armstrong (BitBoy Crypto) taking legal action against content creator Atozy last month for accusing him of promoting dubious tokens to the public, although he has since has withdrawn the lawsuit. .
Related: Do Kwon breaking the silence triggers a response from the community
FatManTerra also stated that his fake fund post was inspired by the Lady of Crypto Twitter account that has become accused of dubious investment schemes for shillings to his 257,500 followers.
On September 5, Lady of Crypto opened whitelist their new funded trading firm saying it can trade users’ funds on their behalf and receive an 80/20 split on profits.
