A story about a pathetic man's downfall [34 Felony Convictions]

[tx 3 putt 76,954]

13 hours ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

because these fucks search out loopholes like fucking bloodhounds

 

[Native Horn 3,504]

On 9/28/2024 at 7:37 AM, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

Was there anything more unintimidating than a sleestack? 

Bill Laimbeer did not excel at basketball OR sleestacking.

[Mittens 8,279]

 

[tx 3 putt 76,954]

treason should always be 100%, death by hanging 

no plea deals, all appeals must be within 30 days of judgement 

[Rimbo 25,932]

ok I'm slow

[Francisco 2.0 32,391]

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-media-truth-social-executives-ousted-devin-nunes

 

Quote

Former President Donald Trump’s media company has forced out executives in recent days after internal allegations that its CEO, former Rep. Devin Nunes, is mismanaging the company, according to interviews and records of communications among former employees.

Several people involved with Trump Media believe the ousters are retaliation following what they describe as an anonymous “whistleblower” complaint regarding Nunes that went to the company’s board of directors.

 

Quote

The chief operating officer and chief product officer have left the company, along with at least two lower-level staffers, according to interviews, social media posts and communications between former staffers reviewed by ProPublica. The company, which runs the social media platform Truth Social, disclosed the departure of the chief operating officer in a securities filing Thursday afternoon.

ProPublica has not seen the whistleblower complaint. But several people with knowledge of the company said the concerns revolve around alleged mismanagement by Nunes. One person said they include allegations of misuse of funds, hiring of foreign contractors and interfering with product development.

 

Quote

In a statement, a spokesperson for Trump Media did not answer specific questions but said that ProPublica’s inquiry to the company “utterly fabricates implications of improper and even illegal conduct that have no basis in reality.”

“This story is the fifth consecutive piece in an increasingly absurd campaign by ProPublica, likely at the behest of political interest groups, to damage TMTG based on false and defamatory allegations and vague innuendo,” the statement said, adding that “TMTG strictly adheres to all laws and applicable regulations.”

 

Spoiler

Trump Media’s board comprises a set of powerful figures in Trump’s world, including his son Donald Trump Jr., former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the businesswoman Linda McMahon, a major donor and current co-chair of Trump’s transition planning committee.

Nunes was named CEO of the company in 2021, with Trump hailing him as “a fighter and a leader” who “will make an excellent CEO.” As a member of Congress, Nunes was known as one of Trump’s staunchest loyalists.

After the internal allegations about Nunes were made at Trump Media, the company enlisted a lawyer to investigate and interview staffers, according to a person with knowledge of the company.

Then, last week, some employees who were interviewed by the lawyer were notified they were being pushed out, the person said. The employees being pushed out include a human relations director and a product designer, along with Chief Operating Officer Andrew Northwall and Chief Product Officer Sandro De Moraes. The person with knowledge of the company said Trump Media asked the employees to sign an agreement pledging not to make public claims of wrongdoing against the company in exchange for severance.

On Thursday afternoon, Northwall posted on Truth Social announcing he had “decided to resign from my role at Trump Media,” adding that he was “incredibly grateful” to Trump and Nunes “for this opportunity.”

“As I step back, I look forward to focusing more on my family and returning to my entrepreneurial journey,” the statement said.

De Moraes now identifies himself on his Truth Social bio as the “Former Chief Product Officer” of the company.

Some word of the departures became public earlier this week when former Trump Media employee Alex Gleason said in a social media post that “Truth Social in shambles. Many more people fired.”

Trump personally owns nearly 60% of the company. That stake, even after a recent decline in the company’s stock price, is worth nearly $2 billion on paper, a significant chunk of Trump’s fortune. He said last month he was not planning to sell his shares. What role Trump plays, if any, in the day-to-day operations of the company is not clear.

Since it launched in 2021, the company has become a speculation-fueled meme stock, but its actual business has generated virtually no revenue and Truth Social has not emerged as a serious competitor to the major social media platforms.

Among Nunes’ moves as CEO, as ProPublica has reported, was inking a large streaming TV deal with several obscure firms, including one controlled by a major political donor. He also traveled to the Balkans over the summer and met with the prime minister of North Macedonia, a trip whose purpose was never publicly explained by the company.

Trump Media has a formal whistleblower policy, adopted when the company went public in March, that encourages employees to report illegal activity and other “business conduct that damages the Company’s good name” and business interests.

 

[Eskimohorn 5,635]

Nunes sounds like Marty Byrde. Inking fake tv deals. Traveling abroad to strange countries.

[tx 3 putt 76,954]

 

[Francisco 2.0 32,391]

https://gizmodo.com/truth-social-users-are-losing-ridiculous-sums-of-money-to-scams-2000506604

 

Quote

Donald Trump launched Truth Social in 2022 as a social media platform where the MAGA faithful could hang out without any liberals to spoil the fun. The biggest selling point? It was the only place where Trump was personally posting his unhinged screeds after getting banned from Twitter over that whole coup attempt. But new documents obtained by Gizmodo reveal the site has also been flooded with scammers who are swindling users out of enormous sums of money. We’re talking about people who’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in a relatively short period of time.

 

Quote

Gizmodo submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the FTC for consumer complaints about Truth Social filed in the past two years. The complaints to the federal agency include some stories from people who’ve been banned from the site (unjustly, they claim) and others who say they got signed up for mailing lists they never wanted to be on in the first place. But the complaints about scams are the most shocking, if only because there are such large sums of money involved. And we’re publishing a sample of the full, unedited complaints below.

 

Quote

One person who says they lost $170,000 explained they were initially scammed on a different site but met someone on Truth Social who claimed they could help get their money back. That turned out to be a scam as well. But more often, the victims are first contacted on Truth Social before being told to take the conversation somewhere else, like WhatsApp. Truth Social seems to be a target-rich environment for people who are easy to con.

 

Spoiler

Another thing that sticks out about the complaints filed with the FTC is that they seem to involve plenty of elderly fans of Donald Trump. One 72-year-old man who reported chatting with a “beautiful” woman on the site was scammed out of $21,000. His complaint ends with, “I haven’t told my wife about this blunder. She still doesn’t know about it.” Another person in their 60s said they lost $500,000 to scammers on Truth Social and seemed to think there might be a way they could get their money back, telling the FTC, “After I pay this they promise there will be no more fees and I will receive my assets.”

Many of the people don’t seem to understand that any amount they might see on their end that’s supposedly sitting in an account is completely fictitious. The scammers will often give the victim access to a website that shows a certain dollar amount in “their” account but the money is long gone. It’s not sitting there for them to withdraw. It’s simply a ruse for the victim to see their imaginary money grow, luring them into “investing” even more.

There are many different kinds of scams on social media sites. We recently explored the dating app sextortion scams on Ashley Madison and sextortion that’s happening on Grindr with FOIA requests to the FTC. But the scams happening on Truth Social appear to be most commonly pig butchering, a method of gaining someone’s trust while getting them to give you increasingly large amounts of money, all while making it seem like the victim is making wise investments. Truth Social, with its older user base of Boomers who have access to a lifetime of savings and retirement accounts, appears to be an attractive target for scammers running pig butchering operations.

The complaints below were redacted by the FTC before being released to Gizmodo, making it impossible for us to verify each individual claim. But we believe the patterns that emerge give some degree of confidence that these are real scams. And publishing these stories has the potential to help other people, identify when to be skeptical after they’ve met someone online, no matter the social media platform. To be clear, this doesn’t just happen on Truth Social. Pig butchering is a scam that’s happening across the internet, from Facebook to Instagram, and it’s possible for even intelligent people to get swindled. But if you were a scammer, who would you think might be the easiest marks on the planet, ready to believe anything a conman might say? If you said Trump supporters, you’re clearly not alone.

Gizmodo tried to contact representatives from Truth Social on Thursday, but after sending an email to the address listed for media organizations on the social media platform’s website, it bounced back as undeliverable. After finally getting a hold of someone at something called the MZ Group, which works for Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, the representative said they have “a robust team that actively searches for scams and bots on the platform and bans them as soon as they’re found.” Follow-up questions did not receive a response

1) “I paid a fee to get past this security risk.”

Minnesota

Total reported loss: $500,000

Age: 60-64

April 2024

Met on truth social. She said she was in the business of trading cryptocurrency. Got me to trade with a company called coincorner based in england. Money was sent via bank transfer to a crypto wallet then to coincorner. When i tried to withdraw money, i had to pay taxes up front. then site said i had one too many numbers in my bank account number and now a security risk. I paid a fee to get past this security risk. Then i was told i could not transfer my money by wire and i would be issued a check instead. Then they had a minimum amount they would write a check for and needed to fund up my account to reach the minimum. After this, i filed a report with the sheriffs office in Hibbing mn. Case[redacted]. Later i filed an online report with the FBI. On march 30 an [redacted] ph [redacted] contacted me. Says she is an accountant with coincorner and trying to get my funds returned to me. She tells me she is in oregon, but works for coincorner. My assets are now in a bank called Top City choice Bank. I need to pay a withdrawal charge of $10,000 wire transfer to [redacted]. Rte [redacted] acct [redacted]. Wells fargo. [redacted] new orleans la 70128. I made this payment. Then a COT cost of transfer fee $15,000. Same wire destination after that a bank account activation fee $25,000. Same wire address. Now they want $70,000 for an authentication transfer pin. After i pay this they promise there will be no more fees and i will receive my assets. This is unpaid. I have also texted with a guy that claims to be one of the 4 founders of coincorner, Phil Collins ph. [redacted]. This is where i am at today. [redacted]. Ph [redacted]

 

2) “After being scammed by another site…”

Total reported loss: $170,000

Tennessee

March 2024

After being scammed by another site, i was given a link by a [redacted] on truth social social media to have them get my money back after she stated they could retrieve it! Supposedly they did, had me pay them 10% to go get it then told me there were no fees or limits to store my xrp and xlm their! When i got it in my account they said they were delivering a debit card for my account, it never came! I questioned it but they then said when my account reached 20,000 i would get one. I refused to add any more funds to my account after that! The lady is still harrassing me on truth social! Telling me to just pay it to get my card! I have snapshots of it all.

 

3) “Now that I want to withdraw my funds they are telling me I need to pay the taxes”

Total reported loss: $168,920

New York

Age: 65-69

September 2024

I fell victim to a cryptocurrency fraud and need guidance/help. I was contacted on the Truth Social media app, from a girl, she says her name is [redacted] phone [redacted] and lives in Queens supposedly and originally from russia, after talking for a few weeks she asked if I knew anything about bitcoin, I said I heard of it but didn’t know much about it, so she started explaining it to me and I was interested, she asked if I wanted to invest so I did I started out with a small amount, then asked to increase it a few more time for a total of $ 168,920.00, This was all a wire transfer from my bank account to coinbase into a USDT then since coinbase doesn’t USDT to trade she said I need to open a DeFi wallet now that I want to withdraw my funds they are telling me I need to pay the taxes to the DeFi wallet to be able to withdraw my funds, and coinbase does not receive USDT funds and they say I need to pay the DeFi taxes before I supposedly before they will do anything for me. I supposedly earned a total 1,061,155.26. the taxes they want me to pay is $196,972.69 at a 22%00 interest. the wallet is GDXTracex and the website is gdxtracex-web3.com. and they say I only have until 10/5/24 to pay them. or my account with them will be frozen

 

4) “…well-known investors namely President Trump (co-founder), Dan Bongino, Devin Nunes, and many more”

Total reported loss: $150,000

North Carolina

Age: 60-64

July 2024

August 2023 I was on the platform Truth Social interacting with [redacted] and what I thought was a response from him telling me to contact him for a chat on WhatsApp we talked and he proposed an investment opportunity in Crypto Currency. He referred me to Elite Republican Trades. I decided to check out the information. That is when [redacted] contacted me via WhatsApp and explained the platform and benefits for well-known investors namely President Trump (co-founder), Dan Bongino, Devin Nunes, and many more. We researched Mr. [redacted] and didn’t find any negative information. I was instructed to open a Crypto Account to invest in Crypto. Throughout the following 11 months I’ve been investing with this platform seeing profits daily as promised. As recently as May Mr. [redacted] came to me with a bigger investment opportunity with billionaire Carl Ichan, I checked out the information and what I was told was factual, and I was looking at gaining a 5000 profit on my account and was promised to make no less than 3M. I gave Mr. [redacted] 100K to put into this platform. In the beginning of July he notified me that I made 3.5M in profit. I requested a payout of my account at which time I found out I would get (1) bitcoin in my wallet per day until all profits were in place. At that time the money would be released–i.e. approximately August 2024 it would be released. A couple days later Mr. [redacted] contacted me and stated that he withdrew all the money from all the accounts I had invested with him because bitcoin was starting to rapidly lose money. He told me my account fell to 2.5M and he cashed it out and sent it to my Coinbase Wallet through Ethereum Meta Crypto. He used another platform to send the money to me the assets is on the BNB (Binance Smart Chain Network. I can see the money in my Coinbase Wallet but I cannot access the account to make transactions. July 11th Mr. [redacted] contacted me and told me I had to pay a fee of 50K for me to receive a code to open the wallet for me to access, that never happened, no code was received. I contacted Mr. [redacted] and asked him about the code, he said his manager would have to sign off on the letter releasing the code. Three days pass and I hear nothing, he’s unreachable. July 16th I finally hear from Mr. [redacted] and tells me that he plans to send money when the value goes back up. He then told me there was a slight problem I was being told I have to pay a fine because I had setup side accounts with Mr. [redacted] that they did not know about. I was not aware I had any side accounts, he told me it was all still part of the platform. Then he gave me a phone number to contact him manager to reduce the fine, I contacted the manager and he was not happy with me because he said I never paid the fee to withdraw 2.5M. He said I owed $250,000. He said Mr. [redacted] told him I could not afford this so he lowered it to $15,000. As of today 17 July 2024 they are wanting me to send this 15K today. I am not sending any more money that’s the reason for this fraud report. I have everything in detail, conversations, emails, bank wire records if they are needed. I would like this information shared with the FBI!

 

5) “I then thought things were legit.”

Total reported loss: $133,000

California

Age: 60-69

February 2023

I met [redacted] on Truth Social. Talked about stock market and i was experiencing losses. she took me to WhataApp. She then spoke of mdyscoin.com. Had me sign up and then do practice trading for a bit. I then invested $3000 to just try it out. I did a wire transfer from the bank to crypto.com then to mdyscoin.com. I used that money to do bids. when I made some I wired money back to my bank. I then thought things were legit.  [redacted] then said to put more money in for bigger payoffs. I then invested $130,000 to work with. A week or so into it, I decided to remove my funds and work with just what I made. Mdyscoin said my account was frozen that I had joined a 500,000 vip club. I told them I did not join this and to take me off that, they said it was a done deal and if I didn’t come up with the rest of the funds they would freeze my account. I told [redacted] of this and she said she wired $150,000 to my account to help but I needed to com up with the rest to unlock the freeze. I didn’t have the rest of the funds. So now the account is frozen and I take it all monies lost because they won’t wire money back to my bank. I’ve tried. I then went to file a police report, they sent me to the DA’s office, which I filed a report to. Basically they said sorry for you loss. they looked into the web page and found it to be a scam site. I do have the crypto.com wallet address to were it went to. But I think now I seek help in what to do at this point.

 

6) “The more I write the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this.”

Total reported loss: $120,000

Oregon

Age: 70-79

February 2024

I was talking to this person on Truth Social for several months, then was asked if I ever ran a business. He said yes and this person asked if he would be open to help her run her late fathers businesses and help with her inheritance and would pay him to do so. He was sent certificates saying he was part owner of the gold and diamonds that her dad left her in exchange for helping her run the business and help sell her gold. We ended up paying for all the supposed customs fees, attorney fees etc. Always through 3rd party people, the Gold was coming from the UK, went to Canada Customs then to US customs Adding up to over 100K, the money we sent was always through third party people one in particular that took in at least 60K of that amount, we have a receipt with her name and the bank on it. I know what idiots we are. What can we do to investigate this? Every certificate and website she has given us turns out to be fake. We don’t know where to go from here. It is such a long story but this is it in a nut shell. The more I write the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this.

 

7) “I was misled by a person who claimed to be someone he is not on Truth social”

Total reported loss: $110,000

Iowa

Age: 40-49

March 2024

I was misled by a person who claimed to be someone he is not on Truth social who coached me to invest money into an invalid crypto wallet called qledger.live, based in Texas. Now the ledger will not release my funds except in small amounts every few days. Still do not know if I will be able to withdraw funds.

 

😎 “I took $92,400 from my retirement account”

Total reported loss: $100,000

Arizona

Age: 65-69

September 2023

I got involved with [redacted] through Truth Social which turned out to be a romance scam. She convinced me to at first to invest $6000.00 which she also invested $6000.00 In Forex trading through [redacted]. The [redacted] Account Is solely in my name so she transferred her money into this account. The trade made $1500.00. after further convincing from [redacted] I took $92,400 from my retirement account and then wire transferred $94,000.00 to the [redacted] account. I was very reluctant at first but she again convinced me because she also put $200,000.00 in the [redacted] account to show she wasn’t trying to screw me out of my money. We did 2 Forex trades which grew the account to $447,000.00. In the meantime [redacted] wanted me to move to LA so her and I could purchase a house together in Huntington Beach. we needed to raise $1.75 million to purchase this house. She again convinced me to sell my house which that is in process now and to be very honest, I needed to anyway.

My concern which was brought up by my family, is the money that I invested was legal but the money [redacted] added may not be. And I don’t want to get caught in some sort of fraud. The Red Flag that caught my attention was [redacted] only wants her initial investment back of $206,000.00. I’d like to know or be insured that if I take my original investment of $100,000.00 out of the [redacted] account I won’t be committing a crime of some sorts.

 

9) “I invested $1,000 to start and eventually ended up investing $76,764.00”

Total reported loss: $76,000

Mississippi

Age: 65-69

June 2024

I met a lady on Truth Social and after several conversations I mentioned that I wanted to invest some money in the crypto market. She said that her and her uncle traded in Bitcoin and did pretty well and offered to show me how to get started. I downloaded the crypto.com app and their DeFi wallet app and by using screenshots back and forth between us I invested $1,000 to start and eventually ended up investing $76,764.00. I withdrew a small amount around $300.00 and it worked fine so I thought everything was safe and working. We only participated in trading bitcoin a few times and my account got up to $208,636.00 so I asked for a withdrawal of $100,000.00 to get my investment back and they said I needed to pay a tax of about $22,000.00 before I could withdraw that much money. I asked them to take it from the withdrawal and send me the balance. They said they wouldn’t do that and that I must pay it myself. This is making me very nervous because I don’t have much money left so I take out loan and pay the tax. Then they come back and say that I need to pay a deposit of $10,000.00 because I made so much money so fast that they were suspicious of money laundering. I didn’t have that much money so I sent $2,700.00 and my lady friend sent the balance directly to me account and they came back and said that the money had to come from my account. I told them that I only had $3,000.00 and they said would unlock my account if I sent it and they said would take up to 10 working days to process. I waited the 10 days and sent them a message (all communication with them is online) asking about the withdrawal and they said that they wouldn’t release my money unless I paid $6,000.00 and I asked to speak to a supervisor or their legal department and told them I was done sending money.

 

10) “…targeted by a pig butchering scam”

Total reported loss: $73,500

Michigan and Virginia

Age: 60-64

September 2024

[Redacted] was targeted by a pig butchering scam. In May 2024, [redacted] started chatting with an investment scammer on the Truth Social site they subsequently spoke via WhatsApp. The scammer goes by the name [redacted] (supposed DOB: [redacted]) she claims to be from Hong Kong she claims to be residing in San Franciso now (though the address she provided is in Rancho Palos Verdes in Southern California). She said they could make money by investing. [redacted] first invested $10,000.

 

11) “They keep trying to get me to invest more money…”

Total reported loss: $51,000

Texas

Age: 60-64

January 2024

I was contacted by a person claiming to be [redacted] after i made a comment to a post on truth social . I was given a contact number for Whatsapp [redacted] for [redacted] who in turn gave me another number to an account manager b(6) . I made 2 $500.00 transfers in august . My account was showing great returns and I became interested in investing more for my retirement . I made another transfer of $50,000.00 in december . My account was showing great returns then it stopped .When i contacted them about my account i was notified that i would need to pay $1,000.00 a week to keep an account manager who would invest my money .I was making over that each week and told them to deduct it from my account. They then told me it didn’t work that way and in order to continue I would need to upgrade to a high level by investing more money . I finally got in touch with the Real [redacted] who told me he was not involved with the investment firm and that it was a possibly a scam. They keep trying to get me to invest more money on a weekly basis. I have noticed that the first website is gone ,but the second link is for the site now. I told them my wife is dieing and that I will be getting an insurance settlement so i can upgrade my investment just to keep them hanging .

 

12) “I can only login and see my balance and I can’t do anything else with it.”

Total reported loss: $40,000

Michigan

Age: 60-64

March 2024

She reached out to me on truth social and after a few messages we moved the conversation to whatsapp and talked for a couple of weeks and then we moved to telegram and i was talked into doing short term spot gold trading on the Ivision Market through the ARADMAX APP , She told me that her uncle would let her know when to trade , so after making trades for a few weeks she decided I should withdrawal my funds , so while trying to withdraw funds I was told by Ivision Market I had to pay 30 of my funds balance to the monetary authority to authenticate my identity in order withdraw my funds and since I didn’t have the funds to pay it my account was locked and I can only login and see my balance and I can’t do anything else with it.

 

13) “None of this happened and the woman has been absent and unresponsive”

Total reported loss: $34,500

Age: 65-69

California

February 2023

A woman contacted me through Truth Social and requested money for a phone, her mothers medical costs and prescription, and then to pay delinquent storage fees and taxes on an inheritance. All this was based on developing a personal relationship with this person and a promise to repay everything along with interest when her inheritance could be liquified/sold. None of this happened and the woman has been absent and unresponsive. I’ve lent her a total of $34,500 since July/August 2022.

 

14) “He told me once the equipment was released he would fly to Austin where I live and so we could be together.”

Total reported loss: $31,700

Age: 50-59

Texas

June 2024

He friended me on Truth Social. Within a week we exchanged phone numbers. We chatted there for a few days then he told me he had to fly to Dubai he closed a contract he had been working on. Before he left he sent me a pic of his passport and private jet voucher. This all happened in late April 2024. By June he had mentioned that the equipment he purchased from China was being held up in customs in Dubai and needed help financially to release the equipment. He told me he paid for some a colleague paid for some but the remaining amount was $25k. He asked me to deposit the $ into bitcoin which in turn cost me $31,200 due to fees at the bitcoin machine. He also had me purchase a $500 Apple Card. He told me once the equipment was released he would fly to Austin where I live and so we could be together. We talked 2xs per day by phone by way of video chat but he indicated the rules on the oil rig were stricked so he had to black out his screen when we talked. Once he claimed the equipment was received on the oil rig he then stated the pilot he prepaid was not responding to his messages to return home to the states. He then asked me to pay $68,000 to get him and the equipment back to the US. I decided to disengage from him at this point.

 

15) “They were friends and blossomed into something more.”

Total reported loss: $25,500

Age: 60-64

Wyoming

February 2024

[redacted] met someone on Truth Social, [redacted] who was assisting him with trading. She claimed to be in Charlotte, SC. She sent him a picture that is supposedly of her. They were friends and blossomed into something more. He was setting up a liquidity mining through Truth Social. He spoke to this person about a month through Telegram (username: [redacted]). In Dec 2023, he invested $3,000 by transferring it to Kraken and it then went to Trust Wallet in an account ending in 07fd9 that they helped him set up. Crypto type was Ethereum. On Jan 26, 2024 he added $22,000 in the same manner to the same wallet address. The total balance in the wallet was $29,821.75 after he deposited the $22k. On Jan 30, 2024 – [redacted] got a notice in the Trust Wallet app saying he was a winner, and more money would be deposited into his account. The scammer told him that he had 30 days to come up with $107,000 more or he would lose the current $43,000 that was supposed to be in the Trust Wallet account. [redacted] did not want to be involved, and they threatened him to charge a penalty fee if he did not comply. [redacted] has reported it to Kraken. When [redacted] reached out to Trust Wallet, they refused to assist him and threatened legal proceedings against him if he continued to say they were scamming him. [redacted] has screenshots/documentation of this situation. Browser Address that [redacted] sees: defi.trust [redacted]

 

16) “At this point, I knew it was a fraud.”

Total reported loss: $21,000

Age: 70-79

Missouri

October 2023

Began a chat on Truth Social on August 12, 2023. The contact wanted to start a friendship. Her Truth Social name was [redacted]. The chat was friendly, but not romantic in nature. The person had a very beautiful photo and portrayed herself as a wealthy business owner. So I questioned immediately why she would want to be friends with me. It carried on from there and i looked into her background information. She had provided a link to Facebook and the name was [redacted]. It was the same picture as on Truth Social. She said that was her nickname to avoid predators. Unbelievably, I continued the chat. We ended up on WhatsApp and continued to the chat. After a while I saw others on Truth Social with the same picture. When I questioned her she said someone had hacked her accounts. She switched us to Telegram. Over weeks that passed she sent me numerous pictures that was the same person as originally shown. Sadly it turned a bit romantic and I developed feelings for her.

and of course she said she had feelings for me. The chat continued. She said she was harassed on Telegram, so she switched us back to WhatsApp. She eventually convinced me of an investment opportunity and to open an Account on Crypto.Com and transfer funds to Trust Wallet. I ended up sending $21,000. I can hardly believe I did that but she was very persuasive. I am 72 years old and probably just too gullible and lonely at this point in my life. After transferring the funds to Trust Wallet she convinced me to invest in a U Plan which was a smart contract on the blockchain. Last night she informed me that I needed to add $36,000 or I would lose my money. At this point, I knew it was a fraud. I should have know much sooner looking back. I was too confident with the Apps that I downloaded from Apple App Store. Crypto.com and Trust Wallet apps. I read online that Crypto criminals could modify the apps and make them look real. I suspect that she and her team modified the Trust Wallet app and stole my money. It was an elaborate scheme probably with a team which I suspect is very effective. It definitely worked on me. I saved all her photos and all our conversations. I haven’t told my wife about this blunder. She still doesn’t know about it.

 

17) “I believe now all 3 options are fake and rigged to draw one in further.”

Total reported loss: $12,656

Age: 60-64

Texas

December 2023

I was contacted by the person listed below on Truth Social. She started up a compelling conversation where she came across as a caring and trustworthy individual. Over time the conversation become more engaged and felt like there was a connection. She asked to continue the conversation on Telegram. We had a video call to confirm she was real. She sent me pictures of her which I now believe at least some are fake. I had suspicions but feared confronting her directly and rationalized it somehow.

As the relationship got as I perceived closer, she introduced XAUT.cc. site extolling the virtues of Tether gold (XAUT) and how she was getting great returns. And that I would be stupid to not get involved. Returns are made via Storage of XAUT tokens, Arbitrage (AI bots) or option trading. I believe now all 3 options are fake and rigged to draw one in further. I was very reluctant to get involved but she kept pushing and eventually helped me to set up a wallet. In hindsight she was very manipulative. Assured me it is all safe as it is all on the block chain. She talked about where she grew up in Singapore and how she moved to Switzerland, about friend b(6) and neighbor b(6) and all sounded so believable. She also talked about her mom and her dad and her uncles. What they did weekends around San Diego and what they had for dinner, etc. She indicated she works at a place in San Diego called ECOhomebuildersinc.com. She kept making a great case and questioned whether I cared about us. She kept pushing the stakes higher and higher. I realized eventually I was getting manipulated but did know how to get out safely. It all seemed so real, So continued to play along. All wanted to do is get my money back. I thought I could do it. I was wrong. They have threatened me. I wish I had known about this site to report fraud sooner. The info I have on the individual is what was volunteered to me and can not confirm it. I feel so stupid now and scarred of what they may do.

 

 

 

[TeeDubya 3,362]

6 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

https://gizmodo.com/truth-social-users-are-losing-ridiculous-sums-of-money-to-scams-2000506604

 

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Another thing that sticks out about the complaints filed with the FTC is that they seem to involve plenty of elderly fans of Donald Trump. One 72-year-old man who reported chatting with a “beautiful” woman on the site was scammed out of $21,000. His complaint ends with, “I haven’t told my wife about this blunder. She still doesn’t know about it.” Another person in their 60s said they lost $500,000 to scammers on Truth Social and seemed to think there might be a way they could get their money back, telling the FTC, “After I pay this they promise there will be no more fees and I will receive my assets.”

Many of the people don’t seem to understand that any amount they might see on their end that’s supposedly sitting in an account is completely fictitious. The scammers will often give the victim access to a website that shows a certain dollar amount in “their” account but the money is long gone. It’s not sitting there for them to withdraw. It’s simply a ruse for the victim to see their imaginary money grow, luring them into “investing” even more.

There are many different kinds of scams on social media sites. We recently explored the dating app sextortion scams on Ashley Madison and sextortion that’s happening on Grindr with FOIA requests to the FTC. But the scams happening on Truth Social appear to be most commonly pig butchering, a method of gaining someone’s trust while getting them to give you increasingly large amounts of money, all while making it seem like the victim is making wise investments. Truth Social, with its older user base of Boomers who have access to a lifetime of savings and retirement accounts, appears to be an attractive target for scammers running pig butchering operations.

The complaints below were redacted by the FTC before being released to Gizmodo, making it impossible for us to verify each individual claim. But we believe the patterns that emerge give some degree of confidence that these are real scams. And publishing these stories has the potential to help other people, identify when to be skeptical after they’ve met someone online, no matter the social media platform. To be clear, this doesn’t just happen on Truth Social. Pig butchering is a scam that’s happening across the internet, from Facebook to Instagram, and it’s possible for even intelligent people to get swindled. But if you were a scammer, who would you think might be the easiest marks on the planet, ready to believe anything a conman might say? If you said Trump supporters, you’re clearly not alone.

Gizmodo tried to contact representatives from Truth Social on Thursday, but after sending an email to the address listed for media organizations on the social media platform’s website, it bounced back as undeliverable. After finally getting a hold of someone at something called the MZ Group, which works for Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, the representative said they have “a robust team that actively searches for scams and bots on the platform and bans them as soon as they’re found.” Follow-up questions did not receive a response

1) “I paid a fee to get past this security risk.”

Minnesota

Total reported loss: $500,000

Age: 60-64

April 2024

Met on truth social. She said she was in the business of trading cryptocurrency. Got me to trade with a company called coincorner based in england. Money was sent via bank transfer to a crypto wallet then to coincorner. When i tried to withdraw money, i had to pay taxes up front. then site said i had one too many numbers in my bank account number and now a security risk. I paid a fee to get past this security risk. Then i was told i could not transfer my money by wire and i would be issued a check instead. Then they had a minimum amount they would write a check for and needed to fund up my account to reach the minimum. After this, i filed a report with the sheriffs office in Hibbing mn. Case[redacted]. Later i filed an online report with the FBI. On march 30 an [redacted] ph [redacted] contacted me. Says she is an accountant with coincorner and trying to get my funds returned to me. She tells me she is in oregon, but works for coincorner. My assets are now in a bank called Top City choice Bank. I need to pay a withdrawal charge of $10,000 wire transfer to [redacted]. Rte [redacted] acct [redacted]. Wells fargo. [redacted] new orleans la 70128. I made this payment. Then a COT cost of transfer fee $15,000. Same wire destination after that a bank account activation fee $25,000. Same wire address. Now they want $70,000 for an authentication transfer pin. After i pay this they promise there will be no more fees and i will receive my assets. This is unpaid. I have also texted with a guy that claims to be one of the 4 founders of coincorner, Phil Collins ph. [redacted]. This is where i am at today. [redacted]. Ph [redacted]

 

2) “After being scammed by another site…”

Total reported loss: $170,000

Tennessee

March 2024

After being scammed by another site, i was given a link by a [redacted] on truth social social media to have them get my money back after she stated they could retrieve it! Supposedly they did, had me pay them 10% to go get it then told me there were no fees or limits to store my xrp and xlm their! When i got it in my account they said they were delivering a debit card for my account, it never came! I questioned it but they then said when my account reached 20,000 i would get one. I refused to add any more funds to my account after that! The lady is still harrassing me on truth social! Telling me to just pay it to get my card! I have snapshots of it all.

 

3) “Now that I want to withdraw my funds they are telling me I need to pay the taxes”

Total reported loss: $168,920

New York

Age: 65-69

September 2024

I fell victim to a cryptocurrency fraud and need guidance/help. I was contacted on the Truth Social media app, from a girl, she says her name is [redacted] phone [redacted] and lives in Queens supposedly and originally from russia, after talking for a few weeks she asked if I knew anything about bitcoin, I said I heard of it but didn’t know much about it, so she started explaining it to me and I was interested, she asked if I wanted to invest so I did I started out with a small amount, then asked to increase it a few more time for a total of $ 168,920.00, This was all a wire transfer from my bank account to coinbase into a USDT then since coinbase doesn’t USDT to trade she said I need to open a DeFi wallet now that I want to withdraw my funds they are telling me I need to pay the taxes to the DeFi wallet to be able to withdraw my funds, and coinbase does not receive USDT funds and they say I need to pay the DeFi taxes before I supposedly before they will do anything for me. I supposedly earned a total 1,061,155.26. the taxes they want me to pay is $196,972.69 at a 22%00 interest. the wallet is GDXTracex and the website is gdxtracex-web3.com. and they say I only have until 10/5/24 to pay them. or my account with them will be frozen

 

4) “…well-known investors namely President Trump (co-founder), Dan Bongino, Devin Nunes, and many more”

Total reported loss: $150,000

North Carolina

Age: 60-64

July 2024

August 2023 I was on the platform Truth Social interacting with [redacted] and what I thought was a response from him telling me to contact him for a chat on WhatsApp we talked and he proposed an investment opportunity in Crypto Currency. He referred me to Elite Republican Trades. I decided to check out the information. That is when [redacted] contacted me via WhatsApp and explained the platform and benefits for well-known investors namely President Trump (co-founder), Dan Bongino, Devin Nunes, and many more. We researched Mr. [redacted] and didn’t find any negative information. I was instructed to open a Crypto Account to invest in Crypto. Throughout the following 11 months I’ve been investing with this platform seeing profits daily as promised. As recently as May Mr. [redacted] came to me with a bigger investment opportunity with billionaire Carl Ichan, I checked out the information and what I was told was factual, and I was looking at gaining a 5000 profit on my account and was promised to make no less than 3M. I gave Mr. [redacted] 100K to put into this platform. In the beginning of July he notified me that I made 3.5M in profit. I requested a payout of my account at which time I found out I would get (1) bitcoin in my wallet per day until all profits were in place. At that time the money would be released–i.e. approximately August 2024 it would be released. A couple days later Mr. [redacted] contacted me and stated that he withdrew all the money from all the accounts I had invested with him because bitcoin was starting to rapidly lose money. He told me my account fell to 2.5M and he cashed it out and sent it to my Coinbase Wallet through Ethereum Meta Crypto. He used another platform to send the money to me the assets is on the BNB (Binance Smart Chain Network. I can see the money in my Coinbase Wallet but I cannot access the account to make transactions. July 11th Mr. [redacted] contacted me and told me I had to pay a fee of 50K for me to receive a code to open the wallet for me to access, that never happened, no code was received. I contacted Mr. [redacted] and asked him about the code, he said his manager would have to sign off on the letter releasing the code. Three days pass and I hear nothing, he’s unreachable. July 16th I finally hear from Mr. [redacted] and tells me that he plans to send money when the value goes back up. He then told me there was a slight problem I was being told I have to pay a fine because I had setup side accounts with Mr. [redacted] that they did not know about. I was not aware I had any side accounts, he told me it was all still part of the platform. Then he gave me a phone number to contact him manager to reduce the fine, I contacted the manager and he was not happy with me because he said I never paid the fee to withdraw 2.5M. He said I owed $250,000. He said Mr. [redacted] told him I could not afford this so he lowered it to $15,000. As of today 17 July 2024 they are wanting me to send this 15K today. I am not sending any more money that’s the reason for this fraud report. I have everything in detail, conversations, emails, bank wire records if they are needed. I would like this information shared with the FBI!

 

5) “I then thought things were legit.”

Total reported loss: $133,000

California

Age: 60-69

February 2023

I met [redacted] on Truth Social. Talked about stock market and i was experiencing losses. she took me to WhataApp. She then spoke of mdyscoin.com. Had me sign up and then do practice trading for a bit. I then invested $3000 to just try it out. I did a wire transfer from the bank to crypto.com then to mdyscoin.com. I used that money to do bids. when I made some I wired money back to my bank. I then thought things were legit.  [redacted] then said to put more money in for bigger payoffs. I then invested $130,000 to work with. A week or so into it, I decided to remove my funds and work with just what I made. Mdyscoin said my account was frozen that I had joined a 500,000 vip club. I told them I did not join this and to take me off that, they said it was a done deal and if I didn’t come up with the rest of the funds they would freeze my account. I told [redacted] of this and she said she wired $150,000 to my account to help but I needed to com up with the rest to unlock the freeze. I didn’t have the rest of the funds. So now the account is frozen and I take it all monies lost because they won’t wire money back to my bank. I’ve tried. I then went to file a police report, they sent me to the DA’s office, which I filed a report to. Basically they said sorry for you loss. they looked into the web page and found it to be a scam site. I do have the crypto.com wallet address to were it went to. But I think now I seek help in what to do at this point.

 

6) “The more I write the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this.”

Total reported loss: $120,000

Oregon

Age: 70-79

February 2024

I was talking to this person on Truth Social for several months, then was asked if I ever ran a business. He said yes and this person asked if he would be open to help her run her late fathers businesses and help with her inheritance and would pay him to do so. He was sent certificates saying he was part owner of the gold and diamonds that her dad left her in exchange for helping her run the business and help sell her gold. We ended up paying for all the supposed customs fees, attorney fees etc. Always through 3rd party people, the Gold was coming from the UK, went to Canada Customs then to US customs Adding up to over 100K, the money we sent was always through third party people one in particular that took in at least 60K of that amount, we have a receipt with her name and the bank on it. I know what idiots we are. What can we do to investigate this? Every certificate and website she has given us turns out to be fake. We don’t know where to go from here. It is such a long story but this is it in a nut shell. The more I write the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this.

 

7) “I was misled by a person who claimed to be someone he is not on Truth social”

Total reported loss: $110,000

Iowa

Age: 40-49

March 2024

I was misled by a person who claimed to be someone he is not on Truth social who coached me to invest money into an invalid crypto wallet called qledger.live, based in Texas. Now the ledger will not release my funds except in small amounts every few days. Still do not know if I will be able to withdraw funds.

 

😎 “I took $92,400 from my retirement account”

Total reported loss: $100,000

Arizona

Age: 65-69

September 2023

I got involved with [redacted] through Truth Social which turned out to be a romance scam. She convinced me to at first to invest $6000.00 which she also invested $6000.00 In Forex trading through [redacted]. The [redacted] Account Is solely in my name so she transferred her money into this account. The trade made $1500.00. after further convincing from [redacted] I took $92,400 from my retirement account and then wire transferred $94,000.00 to the [redacted] account. I was very reluctant at first but she again convinced me because she also put $200,000.00 in the [redacted] account to show she wasn’t trying to screw me out of my money. We did 2 Forex trades which grew the account to $447,000.00. In the meantime [redacted] wanted me to move to LA so her and I could purchase a house together in Huntington Beach. we needed to raise $1.75 million to purchase this house. She again convinced me to sell my house which that is in process now and to be very honest, I needed to anyway.

My concern which was brought up by my family, is the money that I invested was legal but the money [redacted] added may not be. And I don’t want to get caught in some sort of fraud. The Red Flag that caught my attention was [redacted] only wants her initial investment back of $206,000.00. I’d like to know or be insured that if I take my original investment of $100,000.00 out of the [redacted] account I won’t be committing a crime of some sorts.

 

9) “I invested $1,000 to start and eventually ended up investing $76,764.00”

Total reported loss: $76,000

Mississippi

Age: 65-69

June 2024

I met a lady on Truth Social and after several conversations I mentioned that I wanted to invest some money in the crypto market. She said that her and her uncle traded in Bitcoin and did pretty well and offered to show me how to get started. I downloaded the crypto.com app and their DeFi wallet app and by using screenshots back and forth between us I invested $1,000 to start and eventually ended up investing $76,764.00. I withdrew a small amount around $300.00 and it worked fine so I thought everything was safe and working. We only participated in trading bitcoin a few times and my account got up to $208,636.00 so I asked for a withdrawal of $100,000.00 to get my investment back and they said I needed to pay a tax of about $22,000.00 before I could withdraw that much money. I asked them to take it from the withdrawal and send me the balance. They said they wouldn’t do that and that I must pay it myself. This is making me very nervous because I don’t have much money left so I take out loan and pay the tax. Then they come back and say that I need to pay a deposit of $10,000.00 because I made so much money so fast that they were suspicious of money laundering. I didn’t have that much money so I sent $2,700.00 and my lady friend sent the balance directly to me account and they came back and said that the money had to come from my account. I told them that I only had $3,000.00 and they said would unlock my account if I sent it and they said would take up to 10 working days to process. I waited the 10 days and sent them a message (all communication with them is online) asking about the withdrawal and they said that they wouldn’t release my money unless I paid $6,000.00 and I asked to speak to a supervisor or their legal department and told them I was done sending money.

 

10) “…targeted by a pig butchering scam”

Total reported loss: $73,500

Michigan and Virginia

Age: 60-64

September 2024

[Redacted] was targeted by a pig butchering scam. In May 2024, [redacted] started chatting with an investment scammer on the Truth Social site they subsequently spoke via WhatsApp. The scammer goes by the name [redacted] (supposed DOB: [redacted]) she claims to be from Hong Kong she claims to be residing in San Franciso now (though the address she provided is in Rancho Palos Verdes in Southern California). She said they could make money by investing. [redacted] first invested $10,000.

 

11) “They keep trying to get me to invest more money…”

Total reported loss: $51,000

Texas

Age: 60-64

January 2024

I was contacted by a person claiming to be [redacted] after i made a comment to a post on truth social . I was given a contact number for Whatsapp [redacted] for [redacted] who in turn gave me another number to an account manager b(6) . I made 2 $500.00 transfers in august . My account was showing great returns and I became interested in investing more for my retirement . I made another transfer of $50,000.00 in december . My account was showing great returns then it stopped .When i contacted them about my account i was notified that i would need to pay $1,000.00 a week to keep an account manager who would invest my money .I was making over that each week and told them to deduct it from my account. They then told me it didn’t work that way and in order to continue I would need to upgrade to a high level by investing more money . I finally got in touch with the Real [redacted] who told me he was not involved with the investment firm and that it was a possibly a scam. They keep trying to get me to invest more money on a weekly basis. I have noticed that the first website is gone ,but the second link is for the site now. I told them my wife is dieing and that I will be getting an insurance settlement so i can upgrade my investment just to keep them hanging .

 

12) “I can only login and see my balance and I can’t do anything else with it.”

Total reported loss: $40,000

Michigan

Age: 60-64

March 2024

She reached out to me on truth social and after a few messages we moved the conversation to whatsapp and talked for a couple of weeks and then we moved to telegram and i was talked into doing short term spot gold trading on the Ivision Market through the ARADMAX APP , She told me that her uncle would let her know when to trade , so after making trades for a few weeks she decided I should withdrawal my funds , so while trying to withdraw funds I was told by Ivision Market I had to pay 30 of my funds balance to the monetary authority to authenticate my identity in order withdraw my funds and since I didn’t have the funds to pay it my account was locked and I can only login and see my balance and I can’t do anything else with it.

 

13) “None of this happened and the woman has been absent and unresponsive”

Total reported loss: $34,500

Age: 65-69

California

February 2023

A woman contacted me through Truth Social and requested money for a phone, her mothers medical costs and prescription, and then to pay delinquent storage fees and taxes on an inheritance. All this was based on developing a personal relationship with this person and a promise to repay everything along with interest when her inheritance could be liquified/sold. None of this happened and the woman has been absent and unresponsive. I’ve lent her a total of $34,500 since July/August 2022.

 

14) “He told me once the equipment was released he would fly to Austin where I live and so we could be together.”

Total reported loss: $31,700

Age: 50-59

Texas

June 2024

He friended me on Truth Social. Within a week we exchanged phone numbers. We chatted there for a few days then he told me he had to fly to Dubai he closed a contract he had been working on. Before he left he sent me a pic of his passport and private jet voucher. This all happened in late April 2024. By June he had mentioned that the equipment he purchased from China was being held up in customs in Dubai and needed help financially to release the equipment. He told me he paid for some a colleague paid for some but the remaining amount was $25k. He asked me to deposit the $ into bitcoin which in turn cost me $31,200 due to fees at the bitcoin machine. He also had me purchase a $500 Apple Card. He told me once the equipment was released he would fly to Austin where I live and so we could be together. We talked 2xs per day by phone by way of video chat but he indicated the rules on the oil rig were stricked so he had to black out his screen when we talked. Once he claimed the equipment was received on the oil rig he then stated the pilot he prepaid was not responding to his messages to return home to the states. He then asked me to pay $68,000 to get him and the equipment back to the US. I decided to disengage from him at this point.

 

15) “They were friends and blossomed into something more.”

Total reported loss: $25,500

Age: 60-64

Wyoming

February 2024

[redacted] met someone on Truth Social, [redacted] who was assisting him with trading. She claimed to be in Charlotte, SC. She sent him a picture that is supposedly of her. They were friends and blossomed into something more. He was setting up a liquidity mining through Truth Social. He spoke to this person about a month through Telegram (username: [redacted]). In Dec 2023, he invested $3,000 by transferring it to Kraken and it then went to Trust Wallet in an account ending in 07fd9 that they helped him set up. Crypto type was Ethereum. On Jan 26, 2024 he added $22,000 in the same manner to the same wallet address. The total balance in the wallet was $29,821.75 after he deposited the $22k. On Jan 30, 2024 – [redacted] got a notice in the Trust Wallet app saying he was a winner, and more money would be deposited into his account. The scammer told him that he had 30 days to come up with $107,000 more or he would lose the current $43,000 that was supposed to be in the Trust Wallet account. [redacted] did not want to be involved, and they threatened him to charge a penalty fee if he did not comply. [redacted] has reported it to Kraken. When [redacted] reached out to Trust Wallet, they refused to assist him and threatened legal proceedings against him if he continued to say they were scamming him. [redacted] has screenshots/documentation of this situation. Browser Address that [redacted] sees: defi.trust [redacted]

 

16) “At this point, I knew it was a fraud.”

Total reported loss: $21,000

Age: 70-79

Missouri

October 2023

Began a chat on Truth Social on August 12, 2023. The contact wanted to start a friendship. Her Truth Social name was [redacted]. The chat was friendly, but not romantic in nature. The person had a very beautiful photo and portrayed herself as a wealthy business owner. So I questioned immediately why she would want to be friends with me. It carried on from there and i looked into her background information. She had provided a link to Facebook and the name was [redacted]. It was the same picture as on Truth Social. She said that was her nickname to avoid predators. Unbelievably, I continued the chat. We ended up on WhatsApp and continued to the chat. After a while I saw others on Truth Social with the same picture. When I questioned her she said someone had hacked her accounts. She switched us to Telegram. Over weeks that passed she sent me numerous pictures that was the same person as originally shown. Sadly it turned a bit romantic and I developed feelings for her.

and of course she said she had feelings for me. The chat continued. She said she was harassed on Telegram, so she switched us back to WhatsApp. She eventually convinced me of an investment opportunity and to open an Account on Crypto.Com and transfer funds to Trust Wallet. I ended up sending $21,000. I can hardly believe I did that but she was very persuasive. I am 72 years old and probably just too gullible and lonely at this point in my life. After transferring the funds to Trust Wallet she convinced me to invest in a U Plan which was a smart contract on the blockchain. Last night she informed me that I needed to add $36,000 or I would lose my money. At this point, I knew it was a fraud. I should have know much sooner looking back. I was too confident with the Apps that I downloaded from Apple App Store. Crypto.com and Trust Wallet apps. I read online that Crypto criminals could modify the apps and make them look real. I suspect that she and her team modified the Trust Wallet app and stole my money. It was an elaborate scheme probably with a team which I suspect is very effective. It definitely worked on me. I saved all her photos and all our conversations. I haven’t told my wife about this blunder. She still doesn’t know about it.

 

17) “I believe now all 3 options are fake and rigged to draw one in further.”

Total reported loss: $12,656

Age: 60-64

Texas

December 2023

I was contacted by the person listed below on Truth Social. She started up a compelling conversation where she came across as a caring and trustworthy individual. Over time the conversation become more engaged and felt like there was a connection. She asked to continue the conversation on Telegram. We had a video call to confirm she was real. She sent me pictures of her which I now believe at least some are fake. I had suspicions but feared confronting her directly and rationalized it somehow.

As the relationship got as I perceived closer, she introduced XAUT.cc. site extolling the virtues of Tether gold (XAUT) and how she was getting great returns. And that I would be stupid to not get involved. Returns are made via Storage of XAUT tokens, Arbitrage (AI bots) or option trading. I believe now all 3 options are fake and rigged to draw one in further. I was very reluctant to get involved but she kept pushing and eventually helped me to set up a wallet. In hindsight she was very manipulative. Assured me it is all safe as it is all on the block chain. She talked about where she grew up in Singapore and how she moved to Switzerland, about friend b(6) and neighbor b(6) and all sounded so believable. She also talked about her mom and her dad and her uncles. What they did weekends around San Diego and what they had for dinner, etc. She indicated she works at a place in San Diego called ECOhomebuildersinc.com. She kept making a great case and questioned whether I cared about us. She kept pushing the stakes higher and higher. I realized eventually I was getting manipulated but did know how to get out safely. It all seemed so real, So continued to play along. All wanted to do is get my money back. I thought I could do it. I was wrong. They have threatened me. I wish I had known about this site to report fraud sooner. The info I have on the individual is what was volunteered to me and can not confirm it. I feel so stupid now and scarred of what they may do.

 

 

 

[Fudge Nuggets 19,190]

14 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

https://gizmodo.com/truth-social-users-are-losing-ridiculous-sums-of-money-to-scams-2000506604

 

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Another thing that sticks out about the complaints filed with the FTC is that they seem to involve plenty of elderly fans of Donald Trump. One 72-year-old man who reported chatting with a “beautiful” woman on the site was scammed out of $21,000. His complaint ends with, “I haven’t told my wife about this blunder. She still doesn’t know about it.” Another person in their 60s said they lost $500,000 to scammers on Truth Social and seemed to think there might be a way they could get their money back, telling the FTC, “After I pay this they promise there will be no more fees and I will receive my assets.”

Many of the people don’t seem to understand that any amount they might see on their end that’s supposedly sitting in an account is completely fictitious. The scammers will often give the victim access to a website that shows a certain dollar amount in “their” account but the money is long gone. It’s not sitting there for them to withdraw. It’s simply a ruse for the victim to see their imaginary money grow, luring them into “investing” even more.

There are many different kinds of scams on social media sites. We recently explored the dating app sextortion scams on Ashley Madison and sextortion that’s happening on Grindr with FOIA requests to the FTC. But the scams happening on Truth Social appear to be most commonly pig butchering, a method of gaining someone’s trust while getting them to give you increasingly large amounts of money, all while making it seem like the victim is making wise investments. Truth Social, with its older user base of Boomers who have access to a lifetime of savings and retirement accounts, appears to be an attractive target for scammers running pig butchering operations.

The complaints below were redacted by the FTC before being released to Gizmodo, making it impossible for us to verify each individual claim. But we believe the patterns that emerge give some degree of confidence that these are real scams. And publishing these stories has the potential to help other people, identify when to be skeptical after they’ve met someone online, no matter the social media platform. To be clear, this doesn’t just happen on Truth Social. Pig butchering is a scam that’s happening across the internet, from Facebook to Instagram, and it’s possible for even intelligent people to get swindled. But if you were a scammer, who would you think might be the easiest marks on the planet, ready to believe anything a conman might say? If you said Trump supporters, you’re clearly not alone.

Gizmodo tried to contact representatives from Truth Social on Thursday, but after sending an email to the address listed for media organizations on the social media platform’s website, it bounced back as undeliverable. After finally getting a hold of someone at something called the MZ Group, which works for Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, the representative said they have “a robust team that actively searches for scams and bots on the platform and bans them as soon as they’re found.” Follow-up questions did not receive a response

1) “I paid a fee to get past this security risk.”

Minnesota

Total reported loss: $500,000

Age: 60-64

April 2024

Met on truth social. She said she was in the business of trading cryptocurrency. Got me to trade with a company called coincorner based in england. Money was sent via bank transfer to a crypto wallet then to coincorner. When i tried to withdraw money, i had to pay taxes up front. then site said i had one too many numbers in my bank account number and now a security risk. I paid a fee to get past this security risk. Then i was told i could not transfer my money by wire and i would be issued a check instead. Then they had a minimum amount they would write a check for and needed to fund up my account to reach the minimum. After this, i filed a report with the sheriffs office in Hibbing mn. Case[redacted]. Later i filed an online report with the FBI. On march 30 an [redacted] ph [redacted] contacted me. Says she is an accountant with coincorner and trying to get my funds returned to me. She tells me she is in oregon, but works for coincorner. My assets are now in a bank called Top City choice Bank. I need to pay a withdrawal charge of $10,000 wire transfer to [redacted]. Rte [redacted] acct [redacted]. Wells fargo. [redacted] new orleans la 70128. I made this payment. Then a COT cost of transfer fee $15,000. Same wire destination after that a bank account activation fee $25,000. Same wire address. Now they want $70,000 for an authentication transfer pin. After i pay this they promise there will be no more fees and i will receive my assets. This is unpaid. I have also texted with a guy that claims to be one of the 4 founders of coincorner, Phil Collins ph. [redacted]. This is where i am at today. [redacted]. Ph [redacted]

 

2) “After being scammed by another site…”

Total reported loss: $170,000

Tennessee

March 2024

After being scammed by another site, i was given a link by a [redacted] on truth social social media to have them get my money back after she stated they could retrieve it! Supposedly they did, had me pay them 10% to go get it then told me there were no fees or limits to store my xrp and xlm their! When i got it in my account they said they were delivering a debit card for my account, it never came! I questioned it but they then said when my account reached 20,000 i would get one. I refused to add any more funds to my account after that! The lady is still harrassing me on truth social! Telling me to just pay it to get my card! I have snapshots of it all.

 

3) “Now that I want to withdraw my funds they are telling me I need to pay the taxes”

Total reported loss: $168,920

New York

Age: 65-69

September 2024

I fell victim to a cryptocurrency fraud and need guidance/help. I was contacted on the Truth Social media app, from a girl, she says her name is [redacted] phone [redacted] and lives in Queens supposedly and originally from russia, after talking for a few weeks she asked if I knew anything about bitcoin, I said I heard of it but didn’t know much about it, so she started explaining it to me and I was interested, she asked if I wanted to invest so I did I started out with a small amount, then asked to increase it a few more time for a total of $ 168,920.00, This was all a wire transfer from my bank account to coinbase into a USDT then since coinbase doesn’t USDT to trade she said I need to open a DeFi wallet now that I want to withdraw my funds they are telling me I need to pay the taxes to the DeFi wallet to be able to withdraw my funds, and coinbase does not receive USDT funds and they say I need to pay the DeFi taxes before I supposedly before they will do anything for me. I supposedly earned a total 1,061,155.26. the taxes they want me to pay is $196,972.69 at a 22%00 interest. the wallet is GDXTracex and the website is gdxtracex-web3.com. and they say I only have until 10/5/24 to pay them. or my account with them will be frozen

 

4) “…well-known investors namely President Trump (co-founder), Dan Bongino, Devin Nunes, and many more”

Total reported loss: $150,000

North Carolina

Age: 60-64

July 2024

August 2023 I was on the platform Truth Social interacting with [redacted] and what I thought was a response from him telling me to contact him for a chat on WhatsApp we talked and he proposed an investment opportunity in Crypto Currency. He referred me to Elite Republican Trades. I decided to check out the information. That is when [redacted] contacted me via WhatsApp and explained the platform and benefits for well-known investors namely President Trump (co-founder), Dan Bongino, Devin Nunes, and many more. We researched Mr. [redacted] and didn’t find any negative information. I was instructed to open a Crypto Account to invest in Crypto. Throughout the following 11 months I’ve been investing with this platform seeing profits daily as promised. As recently as May Mr. [redacted] came to me with a bigger investment opportunity with billionaire Carl Ichan, I checked out the information and what I was told was factual, and I was looking at gaining a 5000 profit on my account and was promised to make no less than 3M. I gave Mr. [redacted] 100K to put into this platform. In the beginning of July he notified me that I made 3.5M in profit. I requested a payout of my account at which time I found out I would get (1) bitcoin in my wallet per day until all profits were in place. At that time the money would be released–i.e. approximately August 2024 it would be released. A couple days later Mr. [redacted] contacted me and stated that he withdrew all the money from all the accounts I had invested with him because bitcoin was starting to rapidly lose money. He told me my account fell to 2.5M and he cashed it out and sent it to my Coinbase Wallet through Ethereum Meta Crypto. He used another platform to send the money to me the assets is on the BNB (Binance Smart Chain Network. I can see the money in my Coinbase Wallet but I cannot access the account to make transactions. July 11th Mr. [redacted] contacted me and told me I had to pay a fee of 50K for me to receive a code to open the wallet for me to access, that never happened, no code was received. I contacted Mr. [redacted] and asked him about the code, he said his manager would have to sign off on the letter releasing the code. Three days pass and I hear nothing, he’s unreachable. July 16th I finally hear from Mr. [redacted] and tells me that he plans to send money when the value goes back up. He then told me there was a slight problem I was being told I have to pay a fine because I had setup side accounts with Mr. [redacted] that they did not know about. I was not aware I had any side accounts, he told me it was all still part of the platform. Then he gave me a phone number to contact him manager to reduce the fine, I contacted the manager and he was not happy with me because he said I never paid the fee to withdraw 2.5M. He said I owed $250,000. He said Mr. [redacted] told him I could not afford this so he lowered it to $15,000. As of today 17 July 2024 they are wanting me to send this 15K today. I am not sending any more money that’s the reason for this fraud report. I have everything in detail, conversations, emails, bank wire records if they are needed. I would like this information shared with the FBI!

 

5) “I then thought things were legit.”

Total reported loss: $133,000

California

Age: 60-69

February 2023

I met [redacted] on Truth Social. Talked about stock market and i was experiencing losses. she took me to WhataApp. She then spoke of mdyscoin.com. Had me sign up and then do practice trading for a bit. I then invested $3000 to just try it out. I did a wire transfer from the bank to crypto.com then to mdyscoin.com. I used that money to do bids. when I made some I wired money back to my bank. I then thought things were legit.  [redacted] then said to put more money in for bigger payoffs. I then invested $130,000 to work with. A week or so into it, I decided to remove my funds and work with just what I made. Mdyscoin said my account was frozen that I had joined a 500,000 vip club. I told them I did not join this and to take me off that, they said it was a done deal and if I didn’t come up with the rest of the funds they would freeze my account. I told [redacted] of this and she said she wired $150,000 to my account to help but I needed to com up with the rest to unlock the freeze. I didn’t have the rest of the funds. So now the account is frozen and I take it all monies lost because they won’t wire money back to my bank. I’ve tried. I then went to file a police report, they sent me to the DA’s office, which I filed a report to. Basically they said sorry for you loss. they looked into the web page and found it to be a scam site. I do have the crypto.com wallet address to were it went to. But I think now I seek help in what to do at this point.

 

6) “The more I write the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this.”

Total reported loss: $120,000

Oregon

Age: 70-79

February 2024

I was talking to this person on Truth Social for several months, then was asked if I ever ran a business. He said yes and this person asked if he would be open to help her run her late fathers businesses and help with her inheritance and would pay him to do so. He was sent certificates saying he was part owner of the gold and diamonds that her dad left her in exchange for helping her run the business and help sell her gold. We ended up paying for all the supposed customs fees, attorney fees etc. Always through 3rd party people, the Gold was coming from the UK, went to Canada Customs then to US customs Adding up to over 100K, the money we sent was always through third party people one in particular that took in at least 60K of that amount, we have a receipt with her name and the bank on it. I know what idiots we are. What can we do to investigate this? Every certificate and website she has given us turns out to be fake. We don’t know where to go from here. It is such a long story but this is it in a nut shell. The more I write the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this.

 

7) “I was misled by a person who claimed to be someone he is not on Truth social”

Total reported loss: $110,000

Iowa

Age: 40-49

March 2024

I was misled by a person who claimed to be someone he is not on Truth social who coached me to invest money into an invalid crypto wallet called qledger.live, based in Texas. Now the ledger will not release my funds except in small amounts every few days. Still do not know if I will be able to withdraw funds.

 

😎 “I took $92,400 from my retirement account”

Total reported loss: $100,000

Arizona

Age: 65-69

September 2023

I got involved with [redacted] through Truth Social which turned out to be a romance scam. She convinced me to at first to invest $6000.00 which she also invested $6000.00 In Forex trading through [redacted]. The [redacted] Account Is solely in my name so she transferred her money into this account. The trade made $1500.00. after further convincing from [redacted] I took $92,400 from my retirement account and then wire transferred $94,000.00 to the [redacted] account. I was very reluctant at first but she again convinced me because she also put $200,000.00 in the [redacted] account to show she wasn’t trying to screw me out of my money. We did 2 Forex trades which grew the account to $447,000.00. In the meantime [redacted] wanted me to move to LA so her and I could purchase a house together in Huntington Beach. we needed to raise $1.75 million to purchase this house. She again convinced me to sell my house which that is in process now and to be very honest, I needed to anyway.

My concern which was brought up by my family, is the money that I invested was legal but the money [redacted] added may not be. And I don’t want to get caught in some sort of fraud. The Red Flag that caught my attention was [redacted] only wants her initial investment back of $206,000.00. I’d like to know or be insured that if I take my original investment of $100,000.00 out of the [redacted] account I won’t be committing a crime of some sorts.

 

9) “I invested $1,000 to start and eventually ended up investing $76,764.00”

Total reported loss: $76,000

Mississippi

Age: 65-69

June 2024

I met a lady on Truth Social and after several conversations I mentioned that I wanted to invest some money in the crypto market. She said that her and her uncle traded in Bitcoin and did pretty well and offered to show me how to get started. I downloaded the crypto.com app and their DeFi wallet app and by using screenshots back and forth between us I invested $1,000 to start and eventually ended up investing $76,764.00. I withdrew a small amount around $300.00 and it worked fine so I thought everything was safe and working. We only participated in trading bitcoin a few times and my account got up to $208,636.00 so I asked for a withdrawal of $100,000.00 to get my investment back and they said I needed to pay a tax of about $22,000.00 before I could withdraw that much money. I asked them to take it from the withdrawal and send me the balance. They said they wouldn’t do that and that I must pay it myself. This is making me very nervous because I don’t have much money left so I take out loan and pay the tax. Then they come back and say that I need to pay a deposit of $10,000.00 because I made so much money so fast that they were suspicious of money laundering. I didn’t have that much money so I sent $2,700.00 and my lady friend sent the balance directly to me account and they came back and said that the money had to come from my account. I told them that I only had $3,000.00 and they said would unlock my account if I sent it and they said would take up to 10 working days to process. I waited the 10 days and sent them a message (all communication with them is online) asking about the withdrawal and they said that they wouldn’t release my money unless I paid $6,000.00 and I asked to speak to a supervisor or their legal department and told them I was done sending money.

 

10) “…targeted by a pig butchering scam”

Total reported loss: $73,500

Michigan and Virginia

Age: 60-64

September 2024

[Redacted] was targeted by a pig butchering scam. In May 2024, [redacted] started chatting with an investment scammer on the Truth Social site they subsequently spoke via WhatsApp. The scammer goes by the name [redacted] (supposed DOB: [redacted]) she claims to be from Hong Kong she claims to be residing in San Franciso now (though the address she provided is in Rancho Palos Verdes in Southern California). She said they could make money by investing. [redacted] first invested $10,000.

 

11) “They keep trying to get me to invest more money…”

Total reported loss: $51,000

Texas

Age: 60-64

January 2024

I was contacted by a person claiming to be [redacted] after i made a comment to a post on truth social . I was given a contact number for Whatsapp [redacted] for [redacted] who in turn gave me another number to an account manager b(6) . I made 2 $500.00 transfers in august . My account was showing great returns and I became interested in investing more for my retirement . I made another transfer of $50,000.00 in december . My account was showing great returns then it stopped .When i contacted them about my account i was notified that i would need to pay $1,000.00 a week to keep an account manager who would invest my money .I was making over that each week and told them to deduct it from my account. They then told me it didn’t work that way and in order to continue I would need to upgrade to a high level by investing more money . I finally got in touch with the Real [redacted] who told me he was not involved with the investment firm and that it was a possibly a scam. They keep trying to get me to invest more money on a weekly basis. I have noticed that the first website is gone ,but the second link is for the site now. I told them my wife is dieing and that I will be getting an insurance settlement so i can upgrade my investment just to keep them hanging .

 

12) “I can only login and see my balance and I can’t do anything else with it.”

Total reported loss: $40,000

Michigan

Age: 60-64

March 2024

She reached out to me on truth social and after a few messages we moved the conversation to whatsapp and talked for a couple of weeks and then we moved to telegram and i was talked into doing short term spot gold trading on the Ivision Market through the ARADMAX APP , She told me that her uncle would let her know when to trade , so after making trades for a few weeks she decided I should withdrawal my funds , so while trying to withdraw funds I was told by Ivision Market I had to pay 30 of my funds balance to the monetary authority to authenticate my identity in order withdraw my funds and since I didn’t have the funds to pay it my account was locked and I can only login and see my balance and I can’t do anything else with it.

 

13) “None of this happened and the woman has been absent and unresponsive”

Total reported loss: $34,500

Age: 65-69

California

February 2023

A woman contacted me through Truth Social and requested money for a phone, her mothers medical costs and prescription, and then to pay delinquent storage fees and taxes on an inheritance. All this was based on developing a personal relationship with this person and a promise to repay everything along with interest when her inheritance could be liquified/sold. None of this happened and the woman has been absent and unresponsive. I’ve lent her a total of $34,500 since July/August 2022.

 

14) “He told me once the equipment was released he would fly to Austin where I live and so we could be together.”

Total reported loss: $31,700

Age: 50-59

Texas

June 2024

He friended me on Truth Social. Within a week we exchanged phone numbers. We chatted there for a few days then he told me he had to fly to Dubai he closed a contract he had been working on. Before he left he sent me a pic of his passport and private jet voucher. This all happened in late April 2024. By June he had mentioned that the equipment he purchased from China was being held up in customs in Dubai and needed help financially to release the equipment. He told me he paid for some a colleague paid for some but the remaining amount was $25k. He asked me to deposit the $ into bitcoin which in turn cost me $31,200 due to fees at the bitcoin machine. He also had me purchase a $500 Apple Card. He told me once the equipment was released he would fly to Austin where I live and so we could be together. We talked 2xs per day by phone by way of video chat but he indicated the rules on the oil rig were stricked so he had to black out his screen when we talked. Once he claimed the equipment was received on the oil rig he then stated the pilot he prepaid was not responding to his messages to return home to the states. He then asked me to pay $68,000 to get him and the equipment back to the US. I decided to disengage from him at this point.

 

15) “They were friends and blossomed into something more.”

Total reported loss: $25,500

Age: 60-64

Wyoming

February 2024

[redacted] met someone on Truth Social, [redacted] who was assisting him with trading. She claimed to be in Charlotte, SC. She sent him a picture that is supposedly of her. They were friends and blossomed into something more. He was setting up a liquidity mining through Truth Social. He spoke to this person about a month through Telegram (username: [redacted]). In Dec 2023, he invested $3,000 by transferring it to Kraken and it then went to Trust Wallet in an account ending in 07fd9 that they helped him set up. Crypto type was Ethereum. On Jan 26, 2024 he added $22,000 in the same manner to the same wallet address. The total balance in the wallet was $29,821.75 after he deposited the $22k. On Jan 30, 2024 – [redacted] got a notice in the Trust Wallet app saying he was a winner, and more money would be deposited into his account. The scammer told him that he had 30 days to come up with $107,000 more or he would lose the current $43,000 that was supposed to be in the Trust Wallet account. [redacted] did not want to be involved, and they threatened him to charge a penalty fee if he did not comply. [redacted] has reported it to Kraken. When [redacted] reached out to Trust Wallet, they refused to assist him and threatened legal proceedings against him if he continued to say they were scamming him. [redacted] has screenshots/documentation of this situation. Browser Address that [redacted] sees: defi.trust [redacted]

 

16) “At this point, I knew it was a fraud.”

Total reported loss: $21,000

Age: 70-79

Missouri

October 2023

Began a chat on Truth Social on August 12, 2023. The contact wanted to start a friendship. Her Truth Social name was [redacted]. The chat was friendly, but not romantic in nature. The person had a very beautiful photo and portrayed herself as a wealthy business owner. So I questioned immediately why she would want to be friends with me. It carried on from there and i looked into her background information. She had provided a link to Facebook and the name was [redacted]. It was the same picture as on Truth Social. She said that was her nickname to avoid predators. Unbelievably, I continued the chat. We ended up on WhatsApp and continued to the chat. After a while I saw others on Truth Social with the same picture. When I questioned her she said someone had hacked her accounts. She switched us to Telegram. Over weeks that passed she sent me numerous pictures that was the same person as originally shown. Sadly it turned a bit romantic and I developed feelings for her.

and of course she said she had feelings for me. The chat continued. She said she was harassed on Telegram, so she switched us back to WhatsApp. She eventually convinced me of an investment opportunity and to open an Account on Crypto.Com and transfer funds to Trust Wallet. I ended up sending $21,000. I can hardly believe I did that but she was very persuasive. I am 72 years old and probably just too gullible and lonely at this point in my life. After transferring the funds to Trust Wallet she convinced me to invest in a U Plan which was a smart contract on the blockchain. Last night she informed me that I needed to add $36,000 or I would lose my money. At this point, I knew it was a fraud. I should have know much sooner looking back. I was too confident with the Apps that I downloaded from Apple App Store. Crypto.com and Trust Wallet apps. I read online that Crypto criminals could modify the apps and make them look real. I suspect that she and her team modified the Trust Wallet app and stole my money. It was an elaborate scheme probably with a team which I suspect is very effective. It definitely worked on me. I saved all her photos and all our conversations. I haven’t told my wife about this blunder. She still doesn’t know about it.

 

17) “I believe now all 3 options are fake and rigged to draw one in further.”

Total reported loss: $12,656

Age: 60-64

Texas

December 2023

I was contacted by the person listed below on Truth Social. She started up a compelling conversation where she came across as a caring and trustworthy individual. Over time the conversation become more engaged and felt like there was a connection. She asked to continue the conversation on Telegram. We had a video call to confirm she was real. She sent me pictures of her which I now believe at least some are fake. I had suspicions but feared confronting her directly and rationalized it somehow.

As the relationship got as I perceived closer, she introduced XAUT.cc. site extolling the virtues of Tether gold (XAUT) and how she was getting great returns. And that I would be stupid to not get involved. Returns are made via Storage of XAUT tokens, Arbitrage (AI bots) or option trading. I believe now all 3 options are fake and rigged to draw one in further. I was very reluctant to get involved but she kept pushing and eventually helped me to set up a wallet. In hindsight she was very manipulative. Assured me it is all safe as it is all on the block chain. She talked about where she grew up in Singapore and how she moved to Switzerland, about friend b(6) and neighbor b(6) and all sounded so believable. She also talked about her mom and her dad and her uncles. What they did weekends around San Diego and what they had for dinner, etc. She indicated she works at a place in San Diego called ECOhomebuildersinc.com. She kept making a great case and questioned whether I cared about us. She kept pushing the stakes higher and higher. I realized eventually I was getting manipulated but did know how to get out safely. It all seemed so real, So continued to play along. All wanted to do is get my money back. I thought I could do it. I was wrong. They have threatened me. I wish I had known about this site to report fraud sooner. The info I have on the individual is what was volunteered to me and can not confirm it. I feel so stupid now and scarred of what they may do.

 

 

 

[Slacks 6,821]

20 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

https://gizmodo.com/truth-social-users-are-losing-ridiculous-sums-of-money-to-scams-2000506604

 

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Another thing that sticks out about the complaints filed with the FTC is that they seem to involve plenty of elderly fans of Donald Trump. One 72-year-old man who reported chatting with a “beautiful” woman on the site was scammed out of $21,000. His complaint ends with, “I haven’t told my wife about this blunder. She still doesn’t know about it.” Another person in their 60s said they lost $500,000 to scammers on Truth Social and seemed to think there might be a way they could get their money back, telling the FTC, “After I pay this they promise there will be no more fees and I will receive my assets.”

Many of the people don’t seem to understand that any amount they might see on their end that’s supposedly sitting in an account is completely fictitious. The scammers will often give the victim access to a website that shows a certain dollar amount in “their” account but the money is long gone. It’s not sitting there for them to withdraw. It’s simply a ruse for the victim to see their imaginary money grow, luring them into “investing” even more.

There are many different kinds of scams on social media sites. We recently explored the dating app sextortion scams on Ashley Madison and sextortion that’s happening on Grindr with FOIA requests to the FTC. But the scams happening on Truth Social appear to be most commonly pig butchering, a method of gaining someone’s trust while getting them to give you increasingly large amounts of money, all while making it seem like the victim is making wise investments. Truth Social, with its older user base of Boomers who have access to a lifetime of savings and retirement accounts, appears to be an attractive target for scammers running pig butchering operations.

The complaints below were redacted by the FTC before being released to Gizmodo, making it impossible for us to verify each individual claim. But we believe the patterns that emerge give some degree of confidence that these are real scams. And publishing these stories has the potential to help other people, identify when to be skeptical after they’ve met someone online, no matter the social media platform. To be clear, this doesn’t just happen on Truth Social. Pig butchering is a scam that’s happening across the internet, from Facebook to Instagram, and it’s possible for even intelligent people to get swindled. But if you were a scammer, who would you think might be the easiest marks on the planet, ready to believe anything a conman might say? If you said Trump supporters, you’re clearly not alone.

Gizmodo tried to contact representatives from Truth Social on Thursday, but after sending an email to the address listed for media organizations on the social media platform’s website, it bounced back as undeliverable. After finally getting a hold of someone at something called the MZ Group, which works for Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, the representative said they have “a robust team that actively searches for scams and bots on the platform and bans them as soon as they’re found.” Follow-up questions did not receive a response

1) “I paid a fee to get past this security risk.”

Minnesota

Total reported loss: $500,000

Age: 60-64

April 2024

Met on truth social. She said she was in the business of trading cryptocurrency. Got me to trade with a company called coincorner based in england. Money was sent via bank transfer to a crypto wallet then to coincorner. When i tried to withdraw money, i had to pay taxes up front. then site said i had one too many numbers in my bank account number and now a security risk. I paid a fee to get past this security risk. Then i was told i could not transfer my money by wire and i would be issued a check instead. Then they had a minimum amount they would write a check for and needed to fund up my account to reach the minimum. After this, i filed a report with the sheriffs office in Hibbing mn. Case[redacted]. Later i filed an online report with the FBI. On march 30 an [redacted] ph [redacted] contacted me. Says she is an accountant with coincorner and trying to get my funds returned to me. She tells me she is in oregon, but works for coincorner. My assets are now in a bank called Top City choice Bank. I need to pay a withdrawal charge of $10,000 wire transfer to [redacted]. Rte [redacted] acct [redacted]. Wells fargo. [redacted] new orleans la 70128. I made this payment. Then a COT cost of transfer fee $15,000. Same wire destination after that a bank account activation fee $25,000. Same wire address. Now they want $70,000 for an authentication transfer pin. After i pay this they promise there will be no more fees and i will receive my assets. This is unpaid. I have also texted with a guy that claims to be one of the 4 founders of coincorner, Phil Collins ph. [redacted]. This is where i am at today. [redacted]. Ph [redacted]

 

2) “After being scammed by another site…”

Total reported loss: $170,000

Tennessee

March 2024

After being scammed by another site, i was given a link by a [redacted] on truth social social media to have them get my money back after she stated they could retrieve it! Supposedly they did, had me pay them 10% to go get it then told me there were no fees or limits to store my xrp and xlm their! When i got it in my account they said they were delivering a debit card for my account, it never came! I questioned it but they then said when my account reached 20,000 i would get one. I refused to add any more funds to my account after that! The lady is still harrassing me on truth social! Telling me to just pay it to get my card! I have snapshots of it all.

 

3) “Now that I want to withdraw my funds they are telling me I need to pay the taxes”

Total reported loss: $168,920

New York

Age: 65-69

September 2024

I fell victim to a cryptocurrency fraud and need guidance/help. I was contacted on the Truth Social media app, from a girl, she says her name is [redacted] phone [redacted] and lives in Queens supposedly and originally from russia, after talking for a few weeks she asked if I knew anything about bitcoin, I said I heard of it but didn’t know much about it, so she started explaining it to me and I was interested, she asked if I wanted to invest so I did I started out with a small amount, then asked to increase it a few more time for a total of $ 168,920.00, This was all a wire transfer from my bank account to coinbase into a USDT then since coinbase doesn’t USDT to trade she said I need to open a DeFi wallet now that I want to withdraw my funds they are telling me I need to pay the taxes to the DeFi wallet to be able to withdraw my funds, and coinbase does not receive USDT funds and they say I need to pay the DeFi taxes before I supposedly before they will do anything for me. I supposedly earned a total 1,061,155.26. the taxes they want me to pay is $196,972.69 at a 22%00 interest. the wallet is GDXTracex and the website is gdxtracex-web3.com. and they say I only have until 10/5/24 to pay them. or my account with them will be frozen

 

4) “…well-known investors namely President Trump (co-founder), Dan Bongino, Devin Nunes, and many more”

Total reported loss: $150,000

North Carolina

Age: 60-64

July 2024

August 2023 I was on the platform Truth Social interacting with [redacted] and what I thought was a response from him telling me to contact him for a chat on WhatsApp we talked and he proposed an investment opportunity in Crypto Currency. He referred me to Elite Republican Trades. I decided to check out the information. That is when [redacted] contacted me via WhatsApp and explained the platform and benefits for well-known investors namely President Trump (co-founder), Dan Bongino, Devin Nunes, and many more. We researched Mr. [redacted] and didn’t find any negative information. I was instructed to open a Crypto Account to invest in Crypto. Throughout the following 11 months I’ve been investing with this platform seeing profits daily as promised. As recently as May Mr. [redacted] came to me with a bigger investment opportunity with billionaire Carl Ichan, I checked out the information and what I was told was factual, and I was looking at gaining a 5000 profit on my account and was promised to make no less than 3M. I gave Mr. [redacted] 100K to put into this platform. In the beginning of July he notified me that I made 3.5M in profit. I requested a payout of my account at which time I found out I would get (1) bitcoin in my wallet per day until all profits were in place. At that time the money would be released–i.e. approximately August 2024 it would be released. A couple days later Mr. [redacted] contacted me and stated that he withdrew all the money from all the accounts I had invested with him because bitcoin was starting to rapidly lose money. He told me my account fell to 2.5M and he cashed it out and sent it to my Coinbase Wallet through Ethereum Meta Crypto. He used another platform to send the money to me the assets is on the BNB (Binance Smart Chain Network. I can see the money in my Coinbase Wallet but I cannot access the account to make transactions. July 11th Mr. [redacted] contacted me and told me I had to pay a fee of 50K for me to receive a code to open the wallet for me to access, that never happened, no code was received. I contacted Mr. [redacted] and asked him about the code, he said his manager would have to sign off on the letter releasing the code. Three days pass and I hear nothing, he’s unreachable. July 16th I finally hear from Mr. [redacted] and tells me that he plans to send money when the value goes back up. He then told me there was a slight problem I was being told I have to pay a fine because I had setup side accounts with Mr. [redacted] that they did not know about. I was not aware I had any side accounts, he told me it was all still part of the platform. Then he gave me a phone number to contact him manager to reduce the fine, I contacted the manager and he was not happy with me because he said I never paid the fee to withdraw 2.5M. He said I owed $250,000. He said Mr. [redacted] told him I could not afford this so he lowered it to $15,000. As of today 17 July 2024 they are wanting me to send this 15K today. I am not sending any more money that’s the reason for this fraud report. I have everything in detail, conversations, emails, bank wire records if they are needed. I would like this information shared with the FBI!

 

5) “I then thought things were legit.”

Total reported loss: $133,000

California

Age: 60-69

February 2023

I met [redacted] on Truth Social. Talked about stock market and i was experiencing losses. she took me to WhataApp. She then spoke of mdyscoin.com. Had me sign up and then do practice trading for a bit. I then invested $3000 to just try it out. I did a wire transfer from the bank to crypto.com then to mdyscoin.com. I used that money to do bids. when I made some I wired money back to my bank. I then thought things were legit.  [redacted] then said to put more money in for bigger payoffs. I then invested $130,000 to work with. A week or so into it, I decided to remove my funds and work with just what I made. Mdyscoin said my account was frozen that I had joined a 500,000 vip club. I told them I did not join this and to take me off that, they said it was a done deal and if I didn’t come up with the rest of the funds they would freeze my account. I told [redacted] of this and she said she wired $150,000 to my account to help but I needed to com up with the rest to unlock the freeze. I didn’t have the rest of the funds. So now the account is frozen and I take it all monies lost because they won’t wire money back to my bank. I’ve tried. I then went to file a police report, they sent me to the DA’s office, which I filed a report to. Basically they said sorry for you loss. they looked into the web page and found it to be a scam site. I do have the crypto.com wallet address to were it went to. But I think now I seek help in what to do at this point.

 

6) “The more I write the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this.”

Total reported loss: $120,000

Oregon

Age: 70-79

February 2024

I was talking to this person on Truth Social for several months, then was asked if I ever ran a business. He said yes and this person asked if he would be open to help her run her late fathers businesses and help with her inheritance and would pay him to do so. He was sent certificates saying he was part owner of the gold and diamonds that her dad left her in exchange for helping her run the business and help sell her gold. We ended up paying for all the supposed customs fees, attorney fees etc. Always through 3rd party people, the Gold was coming from the UK, went to Canada Customs then to US customs Adding up to over 100K, the money we sent was always through third party people one in particular that took in at least 60K of that amount, we have a receipt with her name and the bank on it. I know what idiots we are. What can we do to investigate this? Every certificate and website she has given us turns out to be fake. We don’t know where to go from here. It is such a long story but this is it in a nut shell. The more I write the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this.

 

7) “I was misled by a person who claimed to be someone he is not on Truth social”

Total reported loss: $110,000

Iowa

Age: 40-49

March 2024

I was misled by a person who claimed to be someone he is not on Truth social who coached me to invest money into an invalid crypto wallet called qledger.live, based in Texas. Now the ledger will not release my funds except in small amounts every few days. Still do not know if I will be able to withdraw funds.

 

😎 “I took $92,400 from my retirement account”

Total reported loss: $100,000

Arizona

Age: 65-69

September 2023

I got involved with [redacted] through Truth Social which turned out to be a romance scam. She convinced me to at first to invest $6000.00 which she also invested $6000.00 In Forex trading through [redacted]. The [redacted] Account Is solely in my name so she transferred her money into this account. The trade made $1500.00. after further convincing from [redacted] I took $92,400 from my retirement account and then wire transferred $94,000.00 to the [redacted] account. I was very reluctant at first but she again convinced me because she also put $200,000.00 in the [redacted] account to show she wasn’t trying to screw me out of my money. We did 2 Forex trades which grew the account to $447,000.00. In the meantime [redacted] wanted me to move to LA so her and I could purchase a house together in Huntington Beach. we needed to raise $1.75 million to purchase this house. She again convinced me to sell my house which that is in process now and to be very honest, I needed to anyway.

My concern which was brought up by my family, is the money that I invested was legal but the money [redacted] added may not be. And I don’t want to get caught in some sort of fraud. The Red Flag that caught my attention was [redacted] only wants her initial investment back of $206,000.00. I’d like to know or be insured that if I take my original investment of $100,000.00 out of the [redacted] account I won’t be committing a crime of some sorts.

 

9) “I invested $1,000 to start and eventually ended up investing $76,764.00”

Total reported loss: $76,000

Mississippi

Age: 65-69

June 2024

I met a lady on Truth Social and after several conversations I mentioned that I wanted to invest some money in the crypto market. She said that her and her uncle traded in Bitcoin and did pretty well and offered to show me how to get started. I downloaded the crypto.com app and their DeFi wallet app and by using screenshots back and forth between us I invested $1,000 to start and eventually ended up investing $76,764.00. I withdrew a small amount around $300.00 and it worked fine so I thought everything was safe and working. We only participated in trading bitcoin a few times and my account got up to $208,636.00 so I asked for a withdrawal of $100,000.00 to get my investment back and they said I needed to pay a tax of about $22,000.00 before I could withdraw that much money. I asked them to take it from the withdrawal and send me the balance. They said they wouldn’t do that and that I must pay it myself. This is making me very nervous because I don’t have much money left so I take out loan and pay the tax. Then they come back and say that I need to pay a deposit of $10,000.00 because I made so much money so fast that they were suspicious of money laundering. I didn’t have that much money so I sent $2,700.00 and my lady friend sent the balance directly to me account and they came back and said that the money had to come from my account. I told them that I only had $3,000.00 and they said would unlock my account if I sent it and they said would take up to 10 working days to process. I waited the 10 days and sent them a message (all communication with them is online) asking about the withdrawal and they said that they wouldn’t release my money unless I paid $6,000.00 and I asked to speak to a supervisor or their legal department and told them I was done sending money.

 

10) “…targeted by a pig butchering scam”

Total reported loss: $73,500

Michigan and Virginia

Age: 60-64

September 2024

[Redacted] was targeted by a pig butchering scam. In May 2024, [redacted] started chatting with an investment scammer on the Truth Social site they subsequently spoke via WhatsApp. The scammer goes by the name [redacted] (supposed DOB: [redacted]) she claims to be from Hong Kong she claims to be residing in San Franciso now (though the address she provided is in Rancho Palos Verdes in Southern California). She said they could make money by investing. [redacted] first invested $10,000.

 

11) “They keep trying to get me to invest more money…”

Total reported loss: $51,000

Texas

Age: 60-64

January 2024

I was contacted by a person claiming to be [redacted] after i made a comment to a post on truth social . I was given a contact number for Whatsapp [redacted] for [redacted] who in turn gave me another number to an account manager b(6) . I made 2 $500.00 transfers in august . My account was showing great returns and I became interested in investing more for my retirement . I made another transfer of $50,000.00 in december . My account was showing great returns then it stopped .When i contacted them about my account i was notified that i would need to pay $1,000.00 a week to keep an account manager who would invest my money .I was making over that each week and told them to deduct it from my account. They then told me it didn’t work that way and in order to continue I would need to upgrade to a high level by investing more money . I finally got in touch with the Real [redacted] who told me he was not involved with the investment firm and that it was a possibly a scam. They keep trying to get me to invest more money on a weekly basis. I have noticed that the first website is gone ,but the second link is for the site now. I told them my wife is dieing and that I will be getting an insurance settlement so i can upgrade my investment just to keep them hanging .

 

12) “I can only login and see my balance and I can’t do anything else with it.”

Total reported loss: $40,000

Michigan

Age: 60-64

March 2024

She reached out to me on truth social and after a few messages we moved the conversation to whatsapp and talked for a couple of weeks and then we moved to telegram and i was talked into doing short term spot gold trading on the Ivision Market through the ARADMAX APP , She told me that her uncle would let her know when to trade , so after making trades for a few weeks she decided I should withdrawal my funds , so while trying to withdraw funds I was told by Ivision Market I had to pay 30 of my funds balance to the monetary authority to authenticate my identity in order withdraw my funds and since I didn’t have the funds to pay it my account was locked and I can only login and see my balance and I can’t do anything else with it.

 

13) “None of this happened and the woman has been absent and unresponsive”

Total reported loss: $34,500

Age: 65-69

California

February 2023

A woman contacted me through Truth Social and requested money for a phone, her mothers medical costs and prescription, and then to pay delinquent storage fees and taxes on an inheritance. All this was based on developing a personal relationship with this person and a promise to repay everything along with interest when her inheritance could be liquified/sold. None of this happened and the woman has been absent and unresponsive. I’ve lent her a total of $34,500 since July/August 2022.

 

14) “He told me once the equipment was released he would fly to Austin where I live and so we could be together.”

Total reported loss: $31,700

Age: 50-59

Texas

June 2024

He friended me on Truth Social. Within a week we exchanged phone numbers. We chatted there for a few days then he told me he had to fly to Dubai he closed a contract he had been working on. Before he left he sent me a pic of his passport and private jet voucher. This all happened in late April 2024. By June he had mentioned that the equipment he purchased from China was being held up in customs in Dubai and needed help financially to release the equipment. He told me he paid for some a colleague paid for some but the remaining amount was $25k. He asked me to deposit the $ into bitcoin which in turn cost me $31,200 due to fees at the bitcoin machine. He also had me purchase a $500 Apple Card. He told me once the equipment was released he would fly to Austin where I live and so we could be together. We talked 2xs per day by phone by way of video chat but he indicated the rules on the oil rig were stricked so he had to black out his screen when we talked. Once he claimed the equipment was received on the oil rig he then stated the pilot he prepaid was not responding to his messages to return home to the states. He then asked me to pay $68,000 to get him and the equipment back to the US. I decided to disengage from him at this point.

 

15) “They were friends and blossomed into something more.”

Total reported loss: $25,500

Age: 60-64

Wyoming

February 2024

[redacted] met someone on Truth Social, [redacted] who was assisting him with trading. She claimed to be in Charlotte, SC. She sent him a picture that is supposedly of her. They were friends and blossomed into something more. He was setting up a liquidity mining through Truth Social. He spoke to this person about a month through Telegram (username: [redacted]). In Dec 2023, he invested $3,000 by transferring it to Kraken and it then went to Trust Wallet in an account ending in 07fd9 that they helped him set up. Crypto type was Ethereum. On Jan 26, 2024 he added $22,000 in the same manner to the same wallet address. The total balance in the wallet was $29,821.75 after he deposited the $22k. On Jan 30, 2024 – [redacted] got a notice in the Trust Wallet app saying he was a winner, and more money would be deposited into his account. The scammer told him that he had 30 days to come up with $107,000 more or he would lose the current $43,000 that was supposed to be in the Trust Wallet account. [redacted] did not want to be involved, and they threatened him to charge a penalty fee if he did not comply. [redacted] has reported it to Kraken. When [redacted] reached out to Trust Wallet, they refused to assist him and threatened legal proceedings against him if he continued to say they were scamming him. [redacted] has screenshots/documentation of this situation. Browser Address that [redacted] sees: defi.trust [redacted]

 

16) “At this point, I knew it was a fraud.”

Total reported loss: $21,000

Age: 70-79

Missouri

October 2023

Began a chat on Truth Social on August 12, 2023. The contact wanted to start a friendship. Her Truth Social name was [redacted]. The chat was friendly, but not romantic in nature. The person had a very beautiful photo and portrayed herself as a wealthy business owner. So I questioned immediately why she would want to be friends with me. It carried on from there and i looked into her background information. She had provided a link to Facebook and the name was [redacted]. It was the same picture as on Truth Social. She said that was her nickname to avoid predators. Unbelievably, I continued the chat. We ended up on WhatsApp and continued to the chat. After a while I saw others on Truth Social with the same picture. When I questioned her she said someone had hacked her accounts. She switched us to Telegram. Over weeks that passed she sent me numerous pictures that was the same person as originally shown. Sadly it turned a bit romantic and I developed feelings for her.

and of course she said she had feelings for me. The chat continued. She said she was harassed on Telegram, so she switched us back to WhatsApp. She eventually convinced me of an investment opportunity and to open an Account on Crypto.Com and transfer funds to Trust Wallet. I ended up sending $21,000. I can hardly believe I did that but she was very persuasive. I am 72 years old and probably just too gullible and lonely at this point in my life. After transferring the funds to Trust Wallet she convinced me to invest in a U Plan which was a smart contract on the blockchain. Last night she informed me that I needed to add $36,000 or I would lose my money. At this point, I knew it was a fraud. I should have know much sooner looking back. I was too confident with the Apps that I downloaded from Apple App Store. Crypto.com and Trust Wallet apps. I read online that Crypto criminals could modify the apps and make them look real. I suspect that she and her team modified the Trust Wallet app and stole my money. It was an elaborate scheme probably with a team which I suspect is very effective. It definitely worked on me. I saved all her photos and all our conversations. I haven’t told my wife about this blunder. She still doesn’t know about it.

 

17) “I believe now all 3 options are fake and rigged to draw one in further.”

Total reported loss: $12,656

Age: 60-64

Texas

December 2023

I was contacted by the person listed below on Truth Social. She started up a compelling conversation where she came across as a caring and trustworthy individual. Over time the conversation become more engaged and felt like there was a connection. She asked to continue the conversation on Telegram. We had a video call to confirm she was real. She sent me pictures of her which I now believe at least some are fake. I had suspicions but feared confronting her directly and rationalized it somehow.

As the relationship got as I perceived closer, she introduced XAUT.cc. site extolling the virtues of Tether gold (XAUT) and how she was getting great returns. And that I would be stupid to not get involved. Returns are made via Storage of XAUT tokens, Arbitrage (AI bots) or option trading. I believe now all 3 options are fake and rigged to draw one in further. I was very reluctant to get involved but she kept pushing and eventually helped me to set up a wallet. In hindsight she was very manipulative. Assured me it is all safe as it is all on the block chain. She talked about where she grew up in Singapore and how she moved to Switzerland, about friend b(6) and neighbor b(6) and all sounded so believable. She also talked about her mom and her dad and her uncles. What they did weekends around San Diego and what they had for dinner, etc. She indicated she works at a place in San Diego called ECOhomebuildersinc.com. She kept making a great case and questioned whether I cared about us. She kept pushing the stakes higher and higher. I realized eventually I was getting manipulated but did know how to get out safely. It all seemed so real, So continued to play along. All wanted to do is get my money back. I thought I could do it. I was wrong. They have threatened me. I wish I had known about this site to report fraud sooner. The info I have on the individual is what was volunteered to me and can not confirm it. I feel so stupid now and scarred of what they may do.

 

 

 

Sounds like it works as planned.

[Fudge Nuggets 19,190]

1 minute ago, Slacks said:

Sounds like it works as planned.

dotard is going to demand a commission from the scammers.

[jimmyjazz 45,945]

On 10/2/2024 at 1:50 PM, Red Five said:

Lulz, is the 3% part real?

Reuters says it isn't:

Quote

False. All proceeds, minus a nearly 3% transaction fee per donation, from the Trump-authorized GoFundMe campaign will be distributed to organizations that are supporting those impacted by Hurricane Helene, according to the fundraising platform.

 

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.

 

[tx 3 putt 76,954]

i know a couple that invested $50k in truth. they’re holding out that trump will ban / cut back on social media lib sites truth will bounce back stronger than ever. $50k is no big deal to them 

[Tuco 5,076]

i know a couple that invested $50k in truth. they’re holding out that trump will ban / cut back on social media lib sites truth will bounce back stronger than ever. $50k is no big deal to them 

So, they are hoping he will utilize his position as president in a way that benefits him (and them) personally. Awesome.

[4th&Five 41,545]

Made me laugh. 

[miguelito 11,266]

Here's the actual cover of Melania's book:

 

 

 

 

[TexasEd 8,067]

It’s not like there are legitimate charities out there like the Red Cross to help people impacted by flooding. No let’s send the money to a know conman. 
 

there will probably be purity tests to qualify for funds 

Edited October 5 by TexasEd

[SydneyCarton 48,103]

Just now, TexasEd said:

It’s not like there are legitimate charities out there like the Red Cross to help people impacted by flooding. No let’s send the money to a know conman. 

Red Cross isn’t all that legitimate…but your point stands. 

[Tuco 5,076]

It’s not like there are legitimate charities out there like the Red Cross to help people impacted by flooding. No let’s send the money to a know conman. 
 
there will probably be purity tests to qualify for funds 

Right, they could avoid the handling fees by just tweeting the Red Cross link and a plea to donate. That would make sense, unless you really like handling fees.

[Red Five 40,857]

1 hour ago, TexasEd said:

It’s not like there are legitimate charities out there like the Red Cross to help people impacted by flooding. No let’s send the money to a know conman. 
 

there will probably be purity tests to qualify for funds 

Let's give it to the guy who can't operate a charity in the state of New York because he and his family stole from their last one.

[TeeDubya 3,362]

[Pato del Muerto 52,497]

On 10/5/2024 at 7:31 AM, Fudge Nuggets said:

dotard is going to demand a commission from the scammers.

You think it’s not his scam?

[chainsaw 9,867]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2024/10/05/donald-trump-wall-street-tower-40-building/

Trump’s Wall Street Tower Appears To Be Underwater

At one of Trump’s biggest buildings, profits are down, expenses are up and the mortgage is about to come due. It’s all enough to push 40 Wall Street into the red.

Quote

Right now, the building’s website advertises 73,000 square feet of “select” rental space available. The actual figure seems to be much higher according to the loan servicer’s report: a 73.9% occupancy rate in a building with 1.2 million square feet of rentable space means that unoccupied area should be closer to 300,000 square feet. It’s not clear if the information on the 40 Wall Street website was inaccurate or if new tenants have committed to moving in. Spokespeople for the Trump Organization did not respond to inquiries.

Not surprisingly, the decline in occupancy rate has coincided with a drop in the building’s income, which fell from $41.7 million in 2019 to $30.9 million in 2022. An increase in the rent Trump collected last year, however, caused it to bounce back to $33 million (it’s not immediately clear why the rent increased while occupancy decreased in 2023). Even still, when Trump signed the loan, Ladder Capital projected 40 Wall Street’s annual gross income to be about $43.1 million. Not once has it reached that figure.

The building’s annual operating expenses, meanwhile, have exceeded estimates. While Ladder Capital projected them to be $20.6 million a year, they’ve surpassed that figure every year since 2016, ranging from $20.9 million in 2017 to $23.6 million in 2019. Driven by repairs and maintenance costs that doubled Ladder Capital’s estimates, operating expenses last year totaled $23.2 million.

Putting it all together, 40 Wall Street’s net operating income in 2023 was $12.8 million. But leasing commissions, tenant improvements and other capital expenditures along with the annual $9.8 million payment to service his debt, resulted in 40 Wall Street putting just $1.2 million in Trump’s pocket last year–a far cry from the $11 million Ladder Capital expected him to be raking in.

 

[C-Man 27,225]

4 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2024/10/05/donald-trump-wall-street-tower-40-building/

Trump’s Wall Street Tower Appears To Be Underwater

At one of Trump’s biggest buildings, profits are down, expenses are up and the mortgage is about to come due. It’s all enough to push 40 Wall Street into the red.

 

[miguelito 11,266]

It's all just part of the art of the deal shart. 

[Bookman 4,639]

Wow, who would have thought that Trump voters were suckers who were easily conned? 

[Gatorubet 30,238]

On 10/5/2024 at 9:23 AM, Fudge Nuggets said:

That is really the hardest part of it all. Grifters trying not to laugh until they finish listening to the elderly idiot MAGA marks and hang up.  “Thank you Mr….Ruprecht is it? I’ll wire the money now!”

 

[Hermanator 7,043]

Quote

I have also texted with a guy that claims to be one of the 4 founders of coincorner, Phil Collins ph. [redacted]. This is where i am at today. 

 

Damn, if I didn't have morals I'd never have to work another day again. These people are so ridiculously easy to scam, and even though I know they're traitors and American Nazis I can't bring myself to scam them. The blueprint is so simple to follow. 

[Gatorubet 30,238]

11 hours ago, Hermanator said:

 

Damn, if I didn't have morals I'd never have to work another day again. These people are so ridiculously easy to scam, and even though I know they're traitors and American Nazis I can't bring myself to scam them. The blueprint is so simple to follow. 

So…..you think $99.95 is too much to charge for Playful MAGA Sea Monkeys?

[TexasEd 8,067]

12 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

So…..you think $99.95 is too much to charge for Playful MAGA Sea Monkeys?

Not for an NFT GIF of Sea Monkeys with Trump Coiffures.

 

[Gatorubet 30,238]

Dammit!  We whiffed on another opportunity. 

[Longhorn_Fan68 33,870]

not that violating trade laws would even move the needle with these felonious predators, but why didn't they just pay the extra penny to have "Made In Amerika" printed on all of them? problem solved.

Edited October 9 by Longhorn_Fan68

[miguelito 11,266]

Biden should put a tariff on Chinese bibles.

[pacman 7,355]

Cost to wholesaler is $3. Selling for $60. Shipped 120,000 to US, so far.

Better question, are the bibles exempt from Trump's proposed China tariff.

Also, funny the constitution included is incomplete, omits all the equal protections.

[Underdog 28,629]

And Oklahoma schools ordered them. 

[Gatorubet 30,238]

On 10/3/2024 at 12:03 PM, tx 3 putt said:

treason should always be 100%, death by hanging 

no plea deals, all appeals must be within 30 days of judgement 

until my dying day I will never trust prosecutors with that much power. As satisfying emotionally as it would be to agree with you, that just shits on due process and an opportunity to prepare a defense.  It can take 30 days to even get a transcript to the trial.  

Think of this slightly differently: do you want this standard to apply to some Democratic reporter found guilty of treason in judge Eileen Cannon’s court?

[Gatorubet 30,238]

3 minutes ago, pacman said:

Cost to wholesaler is $3. Selling for $60. Shipped 120,000 to US, so far.

Better question, are the bibles exempt from Trump's proposed China tariff.

Also, funny the constitution included is incomplete, omits all the equal protections.

13th, 14th…. Whatever it takes.

[pacman 7,355]

[TwiceHorn 31,467]

17 minutes ago, pacman said:

That's what I thought.

[6th Street 6,397]

Hurr durr Ukraine 

[Satchel 6,938]

On 10/6/2024 at 10:23 AM, TeeDubya said:

Didn’t know the mark of the beast also came in black. Good deal!

[Foosters 17,856]

33 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

Hurr durr Ukraine 

you having a stroke?

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,398]

On 10/5/2024 at 9:08 AM, Francisco 2.0 said:

https://gizmodo.com/truth-social-users-are-losing-ridiculous-sums-of-money-to-scams-2000506604

 

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Another thing that sticks out about the complaints filed with the FTC is that they seem to involve plenty of elderly fans of Donald Trump. One 72-year-old man who reported chatting with a “beautiful” woman on the site was scammed out of $21,000. His complaint ends with, “I haven’t told my wife about this blunder. She still doesn’t know about it.” Another person in their 60s said they lost $500,000 to scammers on Truth Social and seemed to think there might be a way they could get their money back, telling the FTC, “After I pay this they promise there will be no more fees and I will receive my assets.”

Many of the people don’t seem to understand that any amount they might see on their end that’s supposedly sitting in an account is completely fictitious. The scammers will often give the victim access to a website that shows a certain dollar amount in “their” account but the money is long gone. It’s not sitting there for them to withdraw. It’s simply a ruse for the victim to see their imaginary money grow, luring them into “investing” even more.

There are many different kinds of scams on social media sites. We recently explored the dating app sextortion scams on Ashley Madison and sextortion that’s happening on Grindr with FOIA requests to the FTC. But the scams happening on Truth Social appear to be most commonly pig butchering, a method of gaining someone’s trust while getting them to give you increasingly large amounts of money, all while making it seem like the victim is making wise investments. Truth Social, with its older user base of Boomers who have access to a lifetime of savings and retirement accounts, appears to be an attractive target for scammers running pig butchering operations.

The complaints below were redacted by the FTC before being released to Gizmodo, making it impossible for us to verify each individual claim. But we believe the patterns that emerge give some degree of confidence that these are real scams. And publishing these stories has the potential to help other people, identify when to be skeptical after they’ve met someone online, no matter the social media platform. To be clear, this doesn’t just happen on Truth Social. Pig butchering is a scam that’s happening across the internet, from Facebook to Instagram, and it’s possible for even intelligent people to get swindled. But if you were a scammer, who would you think might be the easiest marks on the planet, ready to believe anything a conman might say? If you said Trump supporters, you’re clearly not alone.

Gizmodo tried to contact representatives from Truth Social on Thursday, but after sending an email to the address listed for media organizations on the social media platform’s website, it bounced back as undeliverable. After finally getting a hold of someone at something called the MZ Group, which works for Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, the representative said they have “a robust team that actively searches for scams and bots on the platform and bans them as soon as they’re found.” Follow-up questions did not receive a response

1) “I paid a fee to get past this security risk.”

Minnesota

Total reported loss: $500,000

Age: 60-64

April 2024

Met on truth social. She said she was in the business of trading cryptocurrency. Got me to trade with a company called coincorner based in england. Money was sent via bank transfer to a crypto wallet then to coincorner. When i tried to withdraw money, i had to pay taxes up front. then site said i had one too many numbers in my bank account number and now a security risk. I paid a fee to get past this security risk. Then i was told i could not transfer my money by wire and i would be issued a check instead. Then they had a minimum amount they would write a check for and needed to fund up my account to reach the minimum. After this, i filed a report with the sheriffs office in Hibbing mn. Case[redacted]. Later i filed an online report with the FBI. On march 30 an [redacted] ph [redacted] contacted me. Says she is an accountant with coincorner and trying to get my funds returned to me. She tells me she is in oregon, but works for coincorner. My assets are now in a bank called Top City choice Bank. I need to pay a withdrawal charge of $10,000 wire transfer to [redacted]. Rte [redacted] acct [redacted]. Wells fargo. [redacted] new orleans la 70128. I made this payment. Then a COT cost of transfer fee $15,000. Same wire destination after that a bank account activation fee $25,000. Same wire address. Now they want $70,000 for an authentication transfer pin. After i pay this they promise there will be no more fees and i will receive my assets. This is unpaid. I have also texted with a guy that claims to be one of the 4 founders of coincorner, Phil Collins ph. [redacted]. This is where i am at today. [redacted]. Ph [redacted]

 

2) “After being scammed by another site…”

Total reported loss: $170,000

Tennessee

March 2024

After being scammed by another site, i was given a link by a [redacted] on truth social social media to have them get my money back after she stated they could retrieve it! Supposedly they did, had me pay them 10% to go get it then told me there were no fees or limits to store my xrp and xlm their! When i got it in my account they said they were delivering a debit card for my account, it never came! I questioned it but they then said when my account reached 20,000 i would get one. I refused to add any more funds to my account after that! The lady is still harrassing me on truth social! Telling me to just pay it to get my card! I have snapshots of it all.

 

3) “Now that I want to withdraw my funds they are telling me I need to pay the taxes”

Total reported loss: $168,920

New York

Age: 65-69

September 2024

I fell victim to a cryptocurrency fraud and need guidance/help. I was contacted on the Truth Social media app, from a girl, she says her name is [redacted] phone [redacted] and lives in Queens supposedly and originally from russia, after talking for a few weeks she asked if I knew anything about bitcoin, I said I heard of it but didn’t know much about it, so she started explaining it to me and I was interested, she asked if I wanted to invest so I did I started out with a small amount, then asked to increase it a few more time for a total of $ 168,920.00, This was all a wire transfer from my bank account to coinbase into a USDT then since coinbase doesn’t USDT to trade she said I need to open a DeFi wallet now that I want to withdraw my funds they are telling me I need to pay the taxes to the DeFi wallet to be able to withdraw my funds, and coinbase does not receive USDT funds and they say I need to pay the DeFi taxes before I supposedly before they will do anything for me. I supposedly earned a total 1,061,155.26. the taxes they want me to pay is $196,972.69 at a 22%00 interest. the wallet is GDXTracex and the website is gdxtracex-web3.com. and they say I only have until 10/5/24 to pay them. or my account with them will be frozen

 

4) “…well-known investors namely President Trump (co-founder), Dan Bongino, Devin Nunes, and many more”

Total reported loss: $150,000

North Carolina

Age: 60-64

July 2024

August 2023 I was on the platform Truth Social interacting with [redacted] and what I thought was a response from him telling me to contact him for a chat on WhatsApp we talked and he proposed an investment opportunity in Crypto Currency. He referred me to Elite Republican Trades. I decided to check out the information. That is when [redacted] contacted me via WhatsApp and explained the platform and benefits for well-known investors namely President Trump (co-founder), Dan Bongino, Devin Nunes, and many more. We researched Mr. [redacted] and didn’t find any negative information. I was instructed to open a Crypto Account to invest in Crypto. Throughout the following 11 months I’ve been investing with this platform seeing profits daily as promised. As recently as May Mr. [redacted] came to me with a bigger investment opportunity with billionaire Carl Ichan, I checked out the information and what I was told was factual, and I was looking at gaining a 5000 profit on my account and was promised to make no less than 3M. I gave Mr. [redacted] 100K to put into this platform. In the beginning of July he notified me that I made 3.5M in profit. I requested a payout of my account at which time I found out I would get (1) bitcoin in my wallet per day until all profits were in place. At that time the money would be released–i.e. approximately August 2024 it would be released. A couple days later Mr. [redacted] contacted me and stated that he withdrew all the money from all the accounts I had invested with him because bitcoin was starting to rapidly lose money. He told me my account fell to 2.5M and he cashed it out and sent it to my Coinbase Wallet through Ethereum Meta Crypto. He used another platform to send the money to me the assets is on the BNB (Binance Smart Chain Network. I can see the money in my Coinbase Wallet but I cannot access the account to make transactions. July 11th Mr. [redacted] contacted me and told me I had to pay a fee of 50K for me to receive a code to open the wallet for me to access, that never happened, no code was received. I contacted Mr. [redacted] and asked him about the code, he said his manager would have to sign off on the letter releasing the code. Three days pass and I hear nothing, he’s unreachable. July 16th I finally hear from Mr. [redacted] and tells me that he plans to send money when the value goes back up. He then told me there was a slight problem I was being told I have to pay a fine because I had setup side accounts with Mr. [redacted] that they did not know about. I was not aware I had any side accounts, he told me it was all still part of the platform. Then he gave me a phone number to contact him manager to reduce the fine, I contacted the manager and he was not happy with me because he said I never paid the fee to withdraw 2.5M. He said I owed $250,000. He said Mr. [redacted] told him I could not afford this so he lowered it to $15,000. As of today 17 July 2024 they are wanting me to send this 15K today. I am not sending any more money that’s the reason for this fraud report. I have everything in detail, conversations, emails, bank wire records if they are needed. I would like this information shared with the FBI!

 

5) “I then thought things were legit.”

Total reported loss: $133,000

California

Age: 60-69

February 2023

I met [redacted] on Truth Social. Talked about stock market and i was experiencing losses. she took me to WhataApp. She then spoke of mdyscoin.com. Had me sign up and then do practice trading for a bit. I then invested $3000 to just try it out. I did a wire transfer from the bank to crypto.com then to mdyscoin.com. I used that money to do bids. when I made some I wired money back to my bank. I then thought things were legit.  [redacted] then said to put more money in for bigger payoffs. I then invested $130,000 to work with. A week or so into it, I decided to remove my funds and work with just what I made. Mdyscoin said my account was frozen that I had joined a 500,000 vip club. I told them I did not join this and to take me off that, they said it was a done deal and if I didn’t come up with the rest of the funds they would freeze my account. I told [redacted] of this and she said she wired $150,000 to my account to help but I needed to com up with the rest to unlock the freeze. I didn’t have the rest of the funds. So now the account is frozen and I take it all monies lost because they won’t wire money back to my bank. I’ve tried. I then went to file a police report, they sent me to the DA’s office, which I filed a report to. Basically they said sorry for you loss. they looked into the web page and found it to be a scam site. I do have the crypto.com wallet address to were it went to. But I think now I seek help in what to do at this point.

 

6) “The more I write the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this.”

Total reported loss: $120,000

Oregon

Age: 70-79

February 2024

I was talking to this person on Truth Social for several months, then was asked if I ever ran a business. He said yes and this person asked if he would be open to help her run her late fathers businesses and help with her inheritance and would pay him to do so. He was sent certificates saying he was part owner of the gold and diamonds that her dad left her in exchange for helping her run the business and help sell her gold. We ended up paying for all the supposed customs fees, attorney fees etc. Always through 3rd party people, the Gold was coming from the UK, went to Canada Customs then to US customs Adding up to over 100K, the money we sent was always through third party people one in particular that took in at least 60K of that amount, we have a receipt with her name and the bank on it. I know what idiots we are. What can we do to investigate this? Every certificate and website she has given us turns out to be fake. We don’t know where to go from here. It is such a long story but this is it in a nut shell. The more I write the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this.

 

7) “I was misled by a person who claimed to be someone he is not on Truth social”

Total reported loss: $110,000

Iowa

Age: 40-49

March 2024

I was misled by a person who claimed to be someone he is not on Truth social who coached me to invest money into an invalid crypto wallet called qledger.live, based in Texas. Now the ledger will not release my funds except in small amounts every few days. Still do not know if I will be able to withdraw funds.

 

😎 “I took $92,400 from my retirement account”

Total reported loss: $100,000

Arizona

Age: 65-69

September 2023

I got involved with [redacted] through Truth Social which turned out to be a romance scam. She convinced me to at first to invest $6000.00 which she also invested $6000.00 In Forex trading through [redacted]. The [redacted] Account Is solely in my name so she transferred her money into this account. The trade made $1500.00. after further convincing from [redacted] I took $92,400 from my retirement account and then wire transferred $94,000.00 to the [redacted] account. I was very reluctant at first but she again convinced me because she also put $200,000.00 in the [redacted] account to show she wasn’t trying to screw me out of my money. We did 2 Forex trades which grew the account to $447,000.00. In the meantime [redacted] wanted me to move to LA so her and I could purchase a house together in Huntington Beach. we needed to raise $1.75 million to purchase this house. She again convinced me to sell my house which that is in process now and to be very honest, I needed to anyway.

My concern which was brought up by my family, is the money that I invested was legal but the money [redacted] added may not be. And I don’t want to get caught in some sort of fraud. The Red Flag that caught my attention was [redacted] only wants her initial investment back of $206,000.00. I’d like to know or be insured that if I take my original investment of $100,000.00 out of the [redacted] account I won’t be committing a crime of some sorts.

 

9) “I invested $1,000 to start and eventually ended up investing $76,764.00”

Total reported loss: $76,000

Mississippi

Age: 65-69

June 2024

I met a lady on Truth Social and after several conversations I mentioned that I wanted to invest some money in the crypto market. She said that her and her uncle traded in Bitcoin and did pretty well and offered to show me how to get started. I downloaded the crypto.com app and their DeFi wallet app and by using screenshots back and forth between us I invested $1,000 to start and eventually ended up investing $76,764.00. I withdrew a small amount around $300.00 and it worked fine so I thought everything was safe and working. We only participated in trading bitcoin a few times and my account got up to $208,636.00 so I asked for a withdrawal of $100,000.00 to get my investment back and they said I needed to pay a tax of about $22,000.00 before I could withdraw that much money. I asked them to take it from the withdrawal and send me the balance. They said they wouldn’t do that and that I must pay it myself. This is making me very nervous because I don’t have much money left so I take out loan and pay the tax. Then they come back and say that I need to pay a deposit of $10,000.00 because I made so much money so fast that they were suspicious of money laundering. I didn’t have that much money so I sent $2,700.00 and my lady friend sent the balance directly to me account and they came back and said that the money had to come from my account. I told them that I only had $3,000.00 and they said would unlock my account if I sent it and they said would take up to 10 working days to process. I waited the 10 days and sent them a message (all communication with them is online) asking about the withdrawal and they said that they wouldn’t release my money unless I paid $6,000.00 and I asked to speak to a supervisor or their legal department and told them I was done sending money.

 

10) “…targeted by a pig butchering scam”

Total reported loss: $73,500

Michigan and Virginia

Age: 60-64

September 2024

[Redacted] was targeted by a pig butchering scam. In May 2024, [redacted] started chatting with an investment scammer on the Truth Social site they subsequently spoke via WhatsApp. The scammer goes by the name [redacted] (supposed DOB: [redacted]) she claims to be from Hong Kong she claims to be residing in San Franciso now (though the address she provided is in Rancho Palos Verdes in Southern California). She said they could make money by investing. [redacted] first invested $10,000.

 

11) “They keep trying to get me to invest more money…”

Total reported loss: $51,000

Texas

Age: 60-64

January 2024

I was contacted by a person claiming to be [redacted] after i made a comment to a post on truth social . I was given a contact number for Whatsapp [redacted] for [redacted] who in turn gave me another number to an account manager b(6) . I made 2 $500.00 transfers in august . My account was showing great returns and I became interested in investing more for my retirement . I made another transfer of $50,000.00 in december . My account was showing great returns then it stopped .When i contacted them about my account i was notified that i would need to pay $1,000.00 a week to keep an account manager who would invest my money .I was making over that each week and told them to deduct it from my account. They then told me it didn’t work that way and in order to continue I would need to upgrade to a high level by investing more money . I finally got in touch with the Real [redacted] who told me he was not involved with the investment firm and that it was a possibly a scam. They keep trying to get me to invest more money on a weekly basis. I have noticed that the first website is gone ,but the second link is for the site now. I told them my wife is dieing and that I will be getting an insurance settlement so i can upgrade my investment just to keep them hanging .

 

12) “I can only login and see my balance and I can’t do anything else with it.”

Total reported loss: $40,000

Michigan

Age: 60-64

March 2024

She reached out to me on truth social and after a few messages we moved the conversation to whatsapp and talked for a couple of weeks and then we moved to telegram and i was talked into doing short term spot gold trading on the Ivision Market through the ARADMAX APP , She told me that her uncle would let her know when to trade , so after making trades for a few weeks she decided I should withdrawal my funds , so while trying to withdraw funds I was told by Ivision Market I had to pay 30 of my funds balance to the monetary authority to authenticate my identity in order withdraw my funds and since I didn’t have the funds to pay it my account was locked and I can only login and see my balance and I can’t do anything else with it.

 

13) “None of this happened and the woman has been absent and unresponsive”

Total reported loss: $34,500

Age: 65-69

California

February 2023

A woman contacted me through Truth Social and requested money for a phone, her mothers medical costs and prescription, and then to pay delinquent storage fees and taxes on an inheritance. All this was based on developing a personal relationship with this person and a promise to repay everything along with interest when her inheritance could be liquified/sold. None of this happened and the woman has been absent and unresponsive. I’ve lent her a total of $34,500 since July/August 2022.

 

14) “He told me once the equipment was released he would fly to Austin where I live and so we could be together.”

Total reported loss: $31,700

Age: 50-59

Texas

June 2024

He friended me on Truth Social. Within a week we exchanged phone numbers. We chatted there for a few days then he told me he had to fly to Dubai he closed a contract he had been working on. Before he left he sent me a pic of his passport and private jet voucher. This all happened in late April 2024. By June he had mentioned that the equipment he purchased from China was being held up in customs in Dubai and needed help financially to release the equipment. He told me he paid for some a colleague paid for some but the remaining amount was $25k. He asked me to deposit the $ into bitcoin which in turn cost me $31,200 due to fees at the bitcoin machine. He also had me purchase a $500 Apple Card. He told me once the equipment was released he would fly to Austin where I live and so we could be together. We talked 2xs per day by phone by way of video chat but he indicated the rules on the oil rig were stricked so he had to black out his screen when we talked. Once he claimed the equipment was received on the oil rig he then stated the pilot he prepaid was not responding to his messages to return home to the states. He then asked me to pay $68,000 to get him and the equipment back to the US. I decided to disengage from him at this point.

 

15) “They were friends and blossomed into something more.”

Total reported loss: $25,500

Age: 60-64

Wyoming

February 2024

[redacted] met someone on Truth Social, [redacted] who was assisting him with trading. She claimed to be in Charlotte, SC. She sent him a picture that is supposedly of her. They were friends and blossomed into something more. He was setting up a liquidity mining through Truth Social. He spoke to this person about a month through Telegram (username: [redacted]). In Dec 2023, he invested $3,000 by transferring it to Kraken and it then went to Trust Wallet in an account ending in 07fd9 that they helped him set up. Crypto type was Ethereum. On Jan 26, 2024 he added $22,000 in the same manner to the same wallet address. The total balance in the wallet was $29,821.75 after he deposited the $22k. On Jan 30, 2024 – [redacted] got a notice in the Trust Wallet app saying he was a winner, and more money would be deposited into his account. The scammer told him that he had 30 days to come up with $107,000 more or he would lose the current $43,000 that was supposed to be in the Trust Wallet account. [redacted] did not want to be involved, and they threatened him to charge a penalty fee if he did not comply. [redacted] has reported it to Kraken. When [redacted] reached out to Trust Wallet, they refused to assist him and threatened legal proceedings against him if he continued to say they were scamming him. [redacted] has screenshots/documentation of this situation. Browser Address that [redacted] sees: defi.trust [redacted]

 

16) “At this point, I knew it was a fraud.”

Total reported loss: $21,000

Age: 70-79

Missouri

October 2023

Began a chat on Truth Social on August 12, 2023. The contact wanted to start a friendship. Her Truth Social name was [redacted]. The chat was friendly, but not romantic in nature. The person had a very beautiful photo and portrayed herself as a wealthy business owner. So I questioned immediately why she would want to be friends with me. It carried on from there and i looked into her background information. She had provided a link to Facebook and the name was [redacted]. It was the same picture as on Truth Social. She said that was her nickname to avoid predators. Unbelievably, I continued the chat. We ended up on WhatsApp and continued to the chat. After a while I saw others on Truth Social with the same picture. When I questioned her she said someone had hacked her accounts. She switched us to Telegram. Over weeks that passed she sent me numerous pictures that was the same person as originally shown. Sadly it turned a bit romantic and I developed feelings for her.

and of course she said she had feelings for me. The chat continued. She said she was harassed on Telegram, so she switched us back to WhatsApp. She eventually convinced me of an investment opportunity and to open an Account on Crypto.Com and transfer funds to Trust Wallet. I ended up sending $21,000. I can hardly believe I did that but she was very persuasive. I am 72 years old and probably just too gullible and lonely at this point in my life. After transferring the funds to Trust Wallet she convinced me to invest in a U Plan which was a smart contract on the blockchain. Last night she informed me that I needed to add $36,000 or I would lose my money. At this point, I knew it was a fraud. I should have know much sooner looking back. I was too confident with the Apps that I downloaded from Apple App Store. Crypto.com and Trust Wallet apps. I read online that Crypto criminals could modify the apps and make them look real. I suspect that she and her team modified the Trust Wallet app and stole my money. It was an elaborate scheme probably with a team which I suspect is very effective. It definitely worked on me. I saved all her photos and all our conversations. I haven’t told my wife about this blunder. She still doesn’t know about it.

 

17) “I believe now all 3 options are fake and rigged to draw one in further.”

Total reported loss: $12,656

Age: 60-64

Texas

December 2023

I was contacted by the person listed below on Truth Social. She started up a compelling conversation where she came across as a caring and trustworthy individual. Over time the conversation become more engaged and felt like there was a connection. She asked to continue the conversation on Telegram. We had a video call to confirm she was real. She sent me pictures of her which I now believe at least some are fake. I had suspicions but feared confronting her directly and rationalized it somehow.

As the relationship got as I perceived closer, she introduced XAUT.cc. site extolling the virtues of Tether gold (XAUT) and how she was getting great returns. And that I would be stupid to not get involved. Returns are made via Storage of XAUT tokens, Arbitrage (AI bots) or option trading. I believe now all 3 options are fake and rigged to draw one in further. I was very reluctant to get involved but she kept pushing and eventually helped me to set up a wallet. In hindsight she was very manipulative. Assured me it is all safe as it is all on the block chain. She talked about where she grew up in Singapore and how she moved to Switzerland, about friend b(6) and neighbor b(6) and all sounded so believable. She also talked about her mom and her dad and her uncles. What they did weekends around San Diego and what they had for dinner, etc. She indicated she works at a place in San Diego called ECOhomebuildersinc.com. She kept making a great case and questioned whether I cared about us. She kept pushing the stakes higher and higher. I realized eventually I was getting manipulated but did know how to get out safely. It all seemed so real, So continued to play along. All wanted to do is get my money back. I thought I could do it. I was wrong. They have threatened me. I wish I had known about this site to report fraud sooner. The info I have on the individual is what was volunteered to me and can not confirm it. I feel so stupid now and scarred of what they may do.

 

 

 

FIFY:

" I have also texted with a guy that claims to be one of the 4 founders of coincorner, Phil Collins.  So far there has been no reply at all. There's no reply at all. No reply at all. There's no reply at all."

[Pato del Muerto 52,497]

12 minutes ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

FIFY:

" I have also texted with a guy that claims to be one of the 4 founders of coincorner, Phil Collins.  So far there has been no reply at all. There's no reply at all. No reply at all. There's no reply at all."

He’s a founder, so he has been there since the genesis of the company.  

[Brisketexan 105,135]

28 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

He’s a founder, so he has been there since the genesis of the company.  

Wait, we're supposed to be worried by people getting bilked by crypto scams?

I don't care anymore.

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,398]

17 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Wait, we're supposed to be worried by people getting bilked by crypto scams?

I don't care anymore.

He thought that getting bilked was against all odds, but there was something in the air that night and his dream of another day in paradise became the sad story of just one more night. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11,819]

1 hour ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

FIFY:

" I have also texted with a guy that claims to be one of the 4 founders of coincorner, Phil Collins.  So far there has been no reply at all. There's no reply at all. No reply at all. There's no reply at all."

Give it some time - there's no wifi in the basement of the Alamo.

[TheStoicPaisano 9,922]

1 hour ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

FIFY:

" I have also texted with a guy that claims to be one of the 4 founders of coincorner, Phil Collins.  So far there has been no reply at all. There's no reply at all. No reply at all. There's no reply at all."