Home Australia Fraudsters target Sophie Monk and Robert Irwin in sophisticated new online scam

Fraudsters target Sophie Monk and Robert Irwin in sophisticated new online scam

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Images of Sophie Monk were used to promote the fake items.

Heartless scammers have shared fake articles on social media starring Sophie Monk and Robert Irwin in a bid to fleece Australians of their hard-earned money.

The scam began appearing online on Monday with posts on X showing mock previews from news.com.au with headlines such as: “A big scandal”. Sophie Monk: I had to tell people the truth, even if it meant risking my career.”

Clicking took you to articles designed to look genuine, albeit hosted at a completely different URL.

The articles claimed that British-Australian singer and personality Monk had revealed a lucrative investment strategy on the Today show with Karl Stefanovic.

The article claimed that top brass at the ‘Central Bank of Australia’ demanded the segment not air, fearing people would abandon their savings accounts if they learned of ‘Mrs. Monk’.

The article included several doctored photographs of Ms Monk explaining the system to Mr Stefanovic and a transcript of a fake interview.

Readers were told that Ms Monk had provided a link to an investment platform, ‘Intermediate FastX’, and were encouraged to leave their cash on the site.

Another scam seen on X on Monday involved false articles about Mr. Irwin that misleadingly claimed he was being sued by banks for disclosing his own investment strategies.

Robert Irwin's image was also used to spread the mock articles.

Images of Ms Monk and Mr Irwin were used to entice viewers to read the fraudulent articles.

Fake news articles starring Sophie Monk and Robert Irwin were shared on Twitter, apparently by bots encouraging Australians to deposit money with scammers.

Fake news articles featuring Sophie Monk and Robert Irwin were shared on Twitter, apparently by bots encouraging Australians to deposit money with scammers.

Fake accounts posted the ads, many of which appeared genuine but some of which were obviously fake, including one with a mismatched handle and name, accompanied by a profile photo of tennis star Roger Federer.

Banks have increasingly pressured the government to toughen penalties on social media companies that allow fake news to circulate on their platforms.

The ACCC believed Australians lost around $35 million to investment scams between April and June last year.

Victims who are left out of pocket have very few avenues to recover their money, as scammers are often based abroad and use cryptocurrencies to hide their ill-gotten gains.

Fortunately, on Monday, many X users were able to realize that the information was completely false.

Last year, the ACCC’s ScamWatch revealed there had been an increase in the use of celebrities and public figures in fake news and ‘deepfake’ videos to promote fraudulent investment platforms.

A copycat article from news.com.au included the headline

A copycat news.com.au article included the headline “a big scandal” in an attempt to direct readers elsewhere.

Another article falsely claimed that Robert Irwin had been arrested for sharing the

Another article falsely claimed that Robert Irwin had been arrested for sharing the “details” of another investment strategy.

These types of investment scams have been some of the most profitable for criminals.

The Labor government has introduced legislation to penalize platforms, banks and telcos that do not work reasonably to root out scams operating in their businesses.

The legislation is currently in the committee stage, but could result in fines of up to $50 million for actors who do not comply.

Experts have said that the number of ‘bots’ or automated accounts on X has worsened since Elon Musk bought the platform, despite his promise to remove them from the site before the acquisition was completed.

Many so-called bots on X promote links to suspicious investment platforms or dangerous cryptocurrency “opportunities.”

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