Money-flipping cons have long been popular on Instagram and Twitter. But as TikTok’s popularity grows, so do the con artists. Watch out for this TikTok scam, which promises to turn a few hundred dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency into thousands in no time at all. BBB is seeing many new reports in BBB Scam Tracker related to this money-flipping scam. Here’s what you need to know.
How the scam works
You are scrolling through TikTok when you come across a video showing a pile of cash. The creator says they earned the stack of money in just a few days by investing in cryptocurrency. You may not know much about cryptocurrency, but this “investor” can help you get the same kind of return for a modest fee. Better yet, they have a 100% guarantee that they can triple your money in less than a week.
When you contact the supposed investor, likely through WhatsApp, Telegram, or another messaging app, they will be polite and professional. They will ask you to send money – usually, a few hundred dollars to start – through a digital wallet service like PayPal, Zelle or Venmo. They may even ask you to purchase the cryptocurrency yourself and send it to them. Then, they “invest” your money in the stock market, where it allegedly starts multiplying right away.
As always, the scam isn’t what it seems. When you try to get your money back, the scammer will claim you need to pay fees. At first, these amounts may seem harmless. Since your few hundred dollars now turned into…
