Rapper Booba and influencer agent Magalie Berdah clash on social networks on a very specific subject: the links between influencers and online scams. Here are some of the reported scams.
Driver’s licenses put up for sale on the Internet, collections of dubious NFTs, beauty products dangerous to health, packages never delivered or even training to make investments with crypto-currencies… Since July 20, a whole group of influencers is accused on social networks of having knowingly shared scams with their subscribers. It is these practices, at best dubious, at worst large-scale scams, which are denounced by Booba.
The story mainly pits rapper Booba against Magali Berdah, known for managing the activities of some of France’s most popular social media stars. The first criticizes the second for having, with the personalities she accompanies, shared numerous scams or attempted scams on social networks with a large number of people. Reproaches which are however accompanied by messages published by the rapper otherwise more questionable, because they encourage his fans to cyber-harass the manager, who explained that he had received insults and death threats.
Numerama is interested here only in publications accused of being scams for several days. This is in no way to justify the cyberbullying suffered by Magali Berdah and others, but to focus on the content denounced as scams by a growing number of people on social networks following Booba’s messages – and some of which were pointed out by the rapper.
This list is not exhaustive: as Numerama regularly reminds us through articles and surveys, fraud is very numerous on the Internet. Whether it’s completely bogus anti-radiation products for phones, influencers who do not declare their paid partnerships, or the resale of counterfeits, attempts of this kind and questionable practices are very common on the part of influencers. Including those we think we know – wrongly – because we follow their activities on such and such a platform.
Crypto scams and fraudulent NFTs
In addition to Magali Berdah, Booba attacks the practices of several influencers and influencers. These are personalities with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, or even a few million for those who are the most prominent. In fact, these contentious contents have been seen and shared by a very large number of Internet users without necessarily knowing what to expect.
One of the most often mentioned scams is related to cryptocurrencies: this is called the ” copy trading “. The influencers and influencers involved allegedly started by promising their followers that they could earn large sums of money easily by investing in cryptocurrencies, and then invited them to download trading apps. They would then only have had to follow the directions. of experts which allegedly told them when to buy and when to sell their cryptocurrencies in order to pocket gains.
The method, which is supposed to pay big dividends, represents a significant loss of money for the victims most of the time – but not for the influencers. Some have indeed entered into partnerships with these trading apps, and influencers are suspected of receiving a bonus for each new person registered with a referral code and an affiliation system.
In addition to the copy trading, another mentioned scam involves NFTs. The non fungible tokens are the equivalent of a certificate of digital ownership, to acquire virtual files, and which have been a real phenomenon since the beginning of 2021. Some NFTs have even sold for record sums of several million dollars — and these amounts have attracted the covetousness of many scammers.
There are at least two different collections of NFTs here that have been highlighted by several influencers. The latter would have praised the merits of the projects in order to convince their subscribers to buy them. Once the NFTs were sold, the creators and influencers would have left with all the sums collected (which would have reached several million euros in all), without ever delivering what had been promised to Internet users.
CPF scams and fake driving licenses
CPF (professional training account) scam attempts have become extremely common in recent months – and some influencers would not hesitate to promote this kind of trickery themselves. This is particularly the case of several people targeted by Booba: the influencers would have promoted various training courses, which would supposedly have been eligible for the CPF.
The scammers allegedly lured some of their subscribers by telling them that the state would cover 100% of the training costs, and even that a virtual reality headset could be offered to them. The theme of the trainings varied from influencer to influencer. Some would thus have claimed to sell training on the metaverse, while others would have indicated that they offer advice on entrepreneurship.
A final theme would regularly come up in these scams: the sale of fake driving licenses. These were sold by at least two influencers, who would have had “ contacts well placed in the prefectures. These contacts would also have provided fake sick leaves, or even fake parking cards for people with disabilities.
What to do if you see a scam?
There are other scams than those mentioned here. The criticisms loudly formulated by Booba against Magali Berdah and her network illustrate the need to always be careful on the Internet before buying products recommended by influencers, even if you have followed them for a long time and appreciate what they and they are. make.
If you ever spot a scam, you can report it to the DGCCRF, the general directorate for the repression of fraud, on a dedicated website. Do not hesitate to contact us to let us know if you see any.
