This is a first in France. As Franceinfo tells us, a hundred victims of influencers have decided to file a complaint for online scams. A couple of candidates from reality TV is particularly targeted by one of these complaints. There is also talk of an NFT-related scam.
For the past ten years, the phenomenon of influencers has continued to grow online. But more and more voices are raised against the dubious methods of certain net celebrities who take advantage of their notoriety to set up scams. Grouped in the Collective for Assistance to Victims of Influencers (AVI), victims have filed a complaint for breach of trust and organized fraud according to information from Franceinfo. A first in France!
Which influencers are targeted by these complaints?
Several influencers, including some from reality TV, are the subject of a complaint. The alleged facts? To have used online influence to scam their subscribers through very uncertain investments, in particular NFTs. A first complaint against X attacks Animoon, an NFT platformnon-fungible tokens that have been very popular in 2021. Despite the grouping of several hundred investors and a huge estimated fundraising, the latter have never received a penny.
As for the creators of this blockchain-based project, they simply disappeared! Influencers have been promoting Animoon for many months on various online channels. In particular, investors were promised beautiful gifts such as lifetime monthly income, travel and other luxury goods. As you can imagine, no one received anything.
The second complaint is directly aimed at Marc Blata and Nadé Blata, a couple from reality TV who settled in Dubai like many candidates for these shows. The duo offers its subscribers to invest in risky markets through an app. Very popular on social networks, the couple promises a lot of money to investors.
What solution to these scams?
The people targeted by these complaints would use their influence to push to invest money. According to a victim interviewed by France info called Mel, it was Marc Blata’s popularity that pushed her to believe her promises. Last year, Mel lost just over 1000 euros. Seeing Marc Blata on shows like Touche pas à mon poste by Cyril Hanouna boosted his confidence. The victim admits to having been reluctant until eventually believing Marc Blata and entering his system. Mel is waiting for justice for the couple to arrive ” more about scamming other people “.
Faced with the resurgence of these scams, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has decided regulate these practices. New rules concerning social networks could soon be applied.
