Kate Winslet is among the victims of scammers using celebrities to advertise the nonexistent Bitcoin platform and steal money.
Scammers are using fake mainstream news articles to advertise a nonexistent and potentially dangerous Bitcoin investment platform.
“Bitcoin Profit” features fake celebrity interviews
According to the dedicated website used to lure would-be clients, the so-called “Bitcoin Profit” uses celebrity endorsements as part of its marketing strategy.
The site, economicsworld[dot]info, includes testimony from the likes of actress Kate Winslet and Australian businessman Andrew Forrest, also known as Twiggy.
With alleged backing from Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Bill Gates, Bitcoin Profit is one of the more brazen scams to emerge from the cryptocurrency underworld.
Each celebrity has a feature with their photograph, along with a balance sheet of alleged investments in Bitcoin and associated returns.
The balance sheet appears identical for each star, with only the currency symbol changing. In one week alone, perpetrators claim, buying $10,394 worth of BTC netted a return of $421,226 — or 4,110%.
“Categorically false”
Winslet, whom United Kingdom-based daily news outlet the Mirror informed about the scam, subsequently hit back, complaining about the use of her image without permission along with the false statements.
“This misleading promotion is completely disingenuous and categorically false. We are dealing with this through the appropriate channels,” the publication quoted a spokesperson as saying.
Bitcoin Profit is reminiscent of the ongoing scam operations which plague cryptocurrency accounts on Twitter. Fake entities impersonating well-known figures from the industry are attempting to fool novices into participating in fake giveaways.
Scammers continue to exploit the lack of technical understanding around cryptocurrency, with regulators frequently warning about the emergence of new schemes.
