Each and every day new techniques are adopted by scammers to swindle cryptocurrencies from innocent investors. The latest technique is impersonation of a respected and popular authority.
Joseph Muscat, the Prime Minister of Malta is the dignitary who has become the target of impersonation by an Instagram user with account name wangwei8976. Wang Wei is believed to have created a fake profile to draw people into making debatable Bitcoin (BTC) investments.
The posting also suggests investors to contact him for guidance on Bitcoin investments. Following outcry on social media platforms, the deceptive post has been removed. The Independent has labeled the impersonation endeavor as being performed “by an industrious and seemingly Chinese conman, who has gone to great lengths to create a fake Instagram profile replete with official-looking photographs.”
Deceptive Post On Bitcoin Investments
The fake profile also provided a link to partitlaburisti.org, the official website of Maltese prime minister’s political party. Following complaints, Instagram’s management team have removed the deluding crypto post. However, Wang Wei’s Instagram account is still active.
Furthermore, the fake profile of the Malta Prime Minister (josephmuscat290) is still alive. Notably, the real account name of Malta Prime Minister is josephmuscat_jm. The fake profile currently has about 1,300 followers, with most of them appearing to be Maltese residents, including some seasoned politicians. The person who is operating the fake profile is yet to be identified.
As we mentioned earlier, popular personalities have been impersonated by miscreants in the past to steal crypto holdings. In July, blockchain network Tron’s (TRX) founder Justin Sun was impersonated on Twitter. Likewise, hackers had gained control over Twitter handle @AlmostHumanFOX, the official twitter account belonging to FOX’s Almost Human TV program. Once the hackers gained control, they were attempting to lure unsuspecting followers through “fake” giveaways.
Cryptocurrency community expects the social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to do a better job in protecting innocent users. Social media sites hardly take any action against these fraudsters.
