$600K Oceanside Couple Falls for Fake Politician Endorsement on Social Media

An Oceanside couple has been scammed out of $600,000 by what appeared to be a fake politician endorsement on social media. The scam used AI-generated celebrity endorsements and relied on urgency and emotional manipulation to convince the victims to invest in a supposed cryptocurrency company.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported $351 million in losses to fraud involving over 9,900 victims in the first six months of this year. Last year, Oceanside residents lost over $6.2M to scams involving cryptocurrency, gift cards, and bank accounts outside of Canada.

Worth, a local official, warned that scammers often use fake celebrity endorsements to lure victims into investing in untrustworthy companies. He stressed the importance of conducting major investments through traditional and trusted avenues, such as an advisor or bank.