Crypto influencer FatManTerra claims to have raised over $100,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from crypto investors in an investment plan that was later exposed as fake.
The crypto researcher said he created the fake investment scheme as an experiment and to teach people a lesson on how to blindly follow influencers’ investment advice.
The account on Twitter has around 101,100 followers and is best known as a former Terra proponent who now actively opposes the project and founder Do Kwon after it collapsed $40 billion in May.
In a Sept. 5 tweet, FatManTerra told his followers that he’d “gained access to a high-yield BTC farm” from an unnamed fund, and said people could message him if they’re interested in yield farming – Opportunity wanted to participate.
“I’ve maxed out what I can, so there’s still some remaining allocation and I thought I’d pass it on – UST victims will have priority. DM for more details if interested,” he wrote.
While the post received a ton of negative reactions from people calling it a scam, FatMan said he still managed to collect more than $100,000 worth of BTC from the first post on Twitter and Discord within two hours.
In a Sept. 6 tweet, FatManTerra revealed that the investment scheme was fake all along, describing it as an “awareness campaign” to show how easy it is to fool people into crypto using simple buzzwords and big ones promises returns on investment.
“Although I used a lot of buzzwords and was very persuasive on all platforms, I was careful to keep the investment details intentionally opaque – I didn’t name the fund and didn’t describe the trade – nobody knew where income was coming from. But people still invested.”
“I want to send a clear, strong message to everyone in the crypto world – anyone offering to give you free money is lying. It just doesn’t exist. Your favorite influencer selling you trading coaching for a quick buck or offering you a golden investment opportunity is scamming you,” he added.
It’s way too easy to scam people with crypto.
And that has to change.
If you don’t understand where the yield is coming from, you are the yield.
Listen carefully to the vocal critics of a project or investment before committing. *Really* listen.
— FatMan (@FatManTerra) September 5, 2022
FatManTerra claims it has now refunded all money and reiterated that “there are no free lunches”.
The notion of influencers allegedly promoting scams has been in the news lately, with YouTuber Ben Armstrong (BitBoy Crypto) taking legal action against content creator Atozy last month for accusing him of promoting dubious tokens to his audience, though he has meanwhile withdrawn the lawsuit .
Related: Do Kwon’s silence sparks reactions in the community
FatManTerra also stated that his fake fund post was inspired by the Lady of Crypto Twitter account, which has been accused of attributing questionable investment plans to its 257,500 followers.
On September 5, the Lady of Crypto whitelisted her newly funded trading firm, which advertises that it can trade users’ funds on their behalf and receive an 80/20 split of profits.
Learn Crypto Trading, Yield Farms, Income strategies and more at CrytoAnswers
https://nov.link/cryptoanswers
Comments are closed.