‘Worrying rise’ in crypto scams claiming to be celebrity endorsed, Santander says

Cryptocurrency scams falsely claiming to be endorsed by celebrities are surging, Santander warned.

“We’re seeing a worrying rise in ‘celebrity-endorsed’ cryptocurrency scams, where familiar faces are being misused on social media in order to con people out of often life-changing sums of money,” said Chris Ainsley, the bank’s head of fraud risk management in the UK.

He warned that people get swindled out of money after being promised high returns. Such scams involve victims seeing celebrities appear to advertise cryptocurrency online. 

Victims then share their contact details after clicking on a link, are contacted by fraudsters who use high-pressure sales tactics, download malicious software to open crypto accounts, and deposit money in these accounts. Fraudsters then take the money from these accounts.

Santander said that even if crypto opportunities seems to be endorsed by celebrities, they may not necessarily be genuine.

“Always do your homework and thoroughly research any investment opportunity before moving any money – irrespective of who is endorsing it,” the bank warned.

It said customers should use the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) website to look up companies and check if they are legitimate registered firms.