According to Odaily, Australian financial educator Scott Pape, known as the 'Barefoot Investor,' has revealed his efforts to combat cryptocurrency scammers who have been impersonating him to defraud his followers. Pape and his team have been actively reporting hundreds of fake Facebook groups that mimic his identity to lure people into scams. Instead of waiting for Facebook to remove these groups, which could lead to a surge in fraudulent activities, Pape decided to engage with the scammers and expose their fraudulent methods.
Further investigation by Pape indicated that several U.S. regulatory and financial authorities have issued warnings about fake 'wealth institutions' that promise cryptocurrency trading courses via WhatsApp. In these scams, a 'professor' provides fake trading signals to group members, encouraging them to invest funds. Meanwhile, an assistant communicates with investors. Once enough funds are collected, the group disappears with the money, rebrands, and targets new victims.