BA PrincetonMay 9, 2023
BrianKrebs

Simona Weinglass of The Times of Israel is my new hero. Her video reporting on crypto investment scams is well worth watching.

Tl;dw, it appears the biggest crypto investment scams targeting people in the UK were promoted by at least a half dozen of England's premiere football (soccer) leagues. These scammers managed to rake in at least a billion dollars, and could afford lucrative sponsorships that got their brand everywhere. As the former scammers explained, there's nothing real about the investment "earnings" shown to people who get roped into these scams: It's all just a digital mirage, and any money invested is gone.

Her video series on the BBC zeroes in on who's responsible. Involves ride-alongs with German police as they worked w/ investigators in the country of Georgia to raid call centers working the phones for these fraudsters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6JXZ3GzSCQ

The Billion Dollar Scam - BBC World Service

YouTube
Apr 23, 2023 at 10:09pmWeb
Show threadBobby HodgesApr 24, 2023
@briankrebs The time involved with these types of investigations must be massive.
Show threadklausfiend has movedApr 24, 2023

@briankrebs two thoughts:

- the presence of Chelsea does not come as a surprise, given *waves hands* Roman Abramovich
- the absence of Man City does come as a surprise, given *waves hands* ongoing financial irregularities

Show threadJez Caudle Apr 24, 2023
@briankrebs the fact the FSA can’t be arsed to help UK citizens comes as little surprise. The deregulation that started in 1979 with Thatcher and continued under Blair/Brown - “light touch regulation” - and then 13 more years of bankers being in charge has left the financial services industry almost outside the law.
Show threadBA PrincetonMay 9, 2023
@briankrebs A demographic analysis of the 'people who get roped into these scams' would be of great interest. Is any available?