You may find it suspicious if approached by a stock commentator/KOL/celebrity in WhatsApp or WeChat. But when you see them sharing investment tips on social media platforms, would it be more convincing?
Recently, there are numerous deceptive advertisements or sponsored posts on social media platforms from scammers impersonating as well-known stock commentators, KOLs or celebrities. They would post stolen photos, interview videos or media coverage featuring these famous persons to lure potential victims to join private chat groups, and subsequently carry out “ramp and dump” schemes or other investment scams. Apart from using stolen photos and videos, scammers will also mimic the tone and style of famous persons when sharing their everyday life and hobbies, making it really difficult to tell whether they are fraudsters or not.
“Ramp and dump” schemes
In these groups, scammers impersonating as stock commentators, KOLs or celebrities would initially provide investment insights and recommendations to gain the trust of potential victims by recommending conservative and popular stocks. Eventually, they would recommend stocks that can be manipulated easily, such as penny stocks with high shareholding concentration and low liquidity and carry out their “ramp and dump” scam. After victims have fallen into the scam and ramped up the stock prices, scammers would dump the stocks, causing their prices to collapse, and those having bought the shares at an inflated price will suffer huge losses.
Fake investment platforms
Another trick is to lure members of these groups into making fraudulent investments. Scammers may disguise as A-shares, foreign exchange or virtual assets experts offering “investments with high returns and low risks” to get victims to unknowingly invest through fake investment platforms or applications; while in reality, the victims’ money would go into the scammers’ pockets.
We must exercise caution and verify the authenticity of these advertisements or posts. For example, fake accounts usually have fewer followers and a shorter history. Investors may also look for the official social media accounts of the concerned stock commentators, KOLs or celebrities. Do not simply rely on the photos, icons or names you see, or join any unknown investment groups for so-called tips. There is no such thing as easy money or investments with guaranteed returns. Investors should keep a clear head and always fact-check the information to avoid falling prey to scams. When in doubt, call the Anti-Scam Hotline 18222 of Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) for help.
