A vast criminal network has been flooding social media platforms with sponsored posts aimed at promoting cryptocurrency scams, capitalizing on manipulated news articles featuring public figures to deceive users. Following other well-known stars like Kylian Mbappé, Jamel Debbouze, and Élise Lucet, French President Emmanuel Macron has become the latest target of these schemes.
Recently, many social media users scrolling through X (formerly Twitter) may have encountered graphic visuals depicting Macron juxtaposed with eye-catching phrases such as, "Emmanuel Macron n’a pas été averti que la caméra enregistre encore. C’est une fin de carrière !" (Emmanuel Macron was not warned the camera was still recording. This is the end of his career!). These sponsored posts entice users to click on mysterious links leading to dubious content.
The posts often use shocking phrases like, "L'actualité principale de lundi ! Cliquez pour plus de détails !" (Monday's main news! Click for more details!) or, "Ce n’est pas une blague… C’est vraiment arrivé hier" (This is not a joke… It really happened yesterday). Despite appearing benign, these posts creep silently through the feeds of users across French-speaking Twitter, taking them to fabricated articles misrepresenting the work of the popular French daily, Le Monde.
The fault found with these scams lies not just with their deceptive headlines and content but also with their shiny graphics, closely mimicking the authentic style of Le Monde, including its logo and layout. The false narratives included inaccurate quotes attributed to President Macron supposedly made during a recent interview on Europe 1, misleadingly claiming he endorsed cryptocurrency investment programmes set up by billionaire Bill Gates. Indeed, the purported interview transcript claimed, "l’enregistrement de cet échange aurait été rapidement retiré de l'antenne" (the recording of this exchange would have quickly been removed from the air), asserting legitimacy where none exists.
Designed to lead readers to invest, this false article prompts users to explore the supposed platform named Immediate Edge. Promising wealth aided by “artificial intelligence and advanced algorithms to identify profitable trades,” these scams easily lure unsuspecting individuals to provide personal details including their name, email, and phone number.
A worrisome spin emerges as soon as victims engage with the platform, receiving phone calls from self-proclaimed consultants urging them to invest their money. The deception deepens as these false consultants entice victims with visuals representing their initial deposits multiplying rapidly, typically from €50 to €250, leading them to hastily reinvest with the hope of increasing their returns.
This organized criminal network flourished over several years, repeating its mantra with familiar tricks: deceitful visuals featuring popular personalities, forged articles, and phony investment websites. A March 2024 investigation by Le Monde highlighted the operation's extensive scale, estimating these scams could have generated billions of euros.
Celebrities like Élise Lucet, Redouane Bougheraba, Valérie Pécresse, and Francis Cabrel join the ranks of victims, reinforced by media outlets such as Le Monde, Libération, and France Info being frequent targets of these scams. Many of these faltering, deceptive promotional posts often evade social media moderation courtesy of inadequacies in oversight, disseminated primarily by recently created and fake accounts.
An infrastructure of URLs is cleverly sprawled out, redirecting readers to fabricated content, which makes tracking perpetrators incredibly challenging. To safeguard against such schemes, users are encouraged to remain vigilant with unverified investment platforms and thoroughly assess the sources of news articles before reacting to them. If you suspect yourself of becoming prey to internet scams, contacting the Info-Escroqueries helpline at 0 805 805 817 is highly recommended.