Hiding behind many seemingly innocent Instagram photos is a shady scheme that’s costing people thousands.
Reality TV stars like the people from Geordie Shore and The Only Way Is Essex are promising easy money from very little work – just 15-30 minutes a day that anyone can do.
Does this easy way to make money online with no experience work? Of course it doesn’t!
Geordie Shore girls like Holly Hagan will re-share a popular photo like an engagement announcement above. Along with text telling their followers how they can make money with another instagram account.
To start with the reality tv Instagrammers were showing off luxury clothes, cars and holidays to advertise these “easy money” schemes. But as people wised up to them they’ve started hiding them behind seemingly normal photos.
Once followers click through to the account in question, often as part of a competition, they will see a grid of luxury. Showing designer gear, private jets, Caribbean 5 star holidays and high-end cars. Of course, all of these high end goods are not owned by the trading instagram account as they often just pose by things or rent something for a short amount of time.
At the top of these “trader” Instagram accounts is a link that will start a Whatsapp conversation that usually starts off pre-populated with a message saying “Hi, I’m ready to learn”
Shown below is a conversation with one of the trading accounts promoted by Holly Hagan (although most of the geordie shore girls are all promoting the same kind thing).
Basically they want you to sign up via their link as they get referral payments that can often be over £120 per signup and a percentage of the money they deposit. They hide the obvious affiliate link with a masked URL.
Someone inexperienced can very easily lose their money, this is nothing more than gambling. It’s a massively unregulated area that preys on people who want to make easy money and have no comeuppance when they loose all their deposited money.
If it really was that easy to make thousands in 15 minutes a day why would these people on Instagram spend their days trying to get people to sign up with a link?
The truth is their job is creaming money from referral links, they don’t care if you win or lose because they get paid either way. If it really was that easy, they would be doing it themselves.
Remember during the gold rush the people that made the most were the ones selling the tools to mine for gold.
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There is such a theme on Instagram isn’t there? Women selling to women. Selling a fake lifestyle. Whilst many of us scroll on by, there are vulnerable, financially unstable women (often new mums who are in that period of their lives when they have become slightly detached from their usual network of people, by being on maternity leave or spending less time with friends- those networks who can remind you what is REAL and what isn’t), who feel like they’re living a substandard life and letting themselves and their children down.
Though this is more obviously a scam, I see reflections of it in so so ( 😉) many of the other mummy vloggers too.
This girl took all of my money! I have no idea! What the hell do I do about it?
I don’t know, but the Lucy chick is a world class bullshitter for sure. I invested 200 worth of bitcoin and and urbanfxpro.com screen shot says turned into 14 grand. I said when you do you send money and take the commission out. Here’s the thing. the 20$ commission comes out of your bank acct (which I obviously didn’t have) so to get the money of which most likely isn’t real. You have to pay 2800.00 to get what they say you’ve earned.
Hi Wes,
Sorry to hear you have been scammed. I am the real Lucy from tradelikebecksfx and deny all information published in this article and is something I am taking up with the publishers as they are false accusations but in response to you specifically I assume you have been scammed by one of the fake accounts made by people who are pretending to be me in order to scam people of their money? I don’t and have never traded in bitcoin. This is a process that scammers use to ask people to buy bitcoin and put it in a wallet that the scammer owns and then asks you to ad more to get your initial investment out. They do this as it is hard to trace and you have willingly transferred money so they and your bank cannot be held liable. If you had signed up with me it would be impossible for me to send you screenshots of your earnings as you would have created your own trading account that only you has access to and full control of. I can also say I don’t and have never had any affiliation with urbanfxpro. I am also based in the U.K. and am British myself so if someone has asked you to pay $20 commission then I would surmise that the person you have been dealing with is based in the US (which is where a lot of the scammers operate from). Like I say I am very sorry you have been scammed but I can assure you it is not me, it will be one of the fake accounts that have a similar account name to me but more than likely have extra letters, symbols or number to try and confuse people into thinking it is me but it is most definitely not.
Many Thanks
Lucy
tradelikebecksfx is a scam. Your name isn’t Lucy. You aren’t based in the UK. You aren’t British. You aren’t even a woman.
Go die in a fire.
This girl ‘Lucy Beck’ (previously @tradelikebecksfx on IG) is now going by the username @our_visionarydesign on Instagram and is now pretending to be a drop shipping expert!
She is selling courses for thousands of pounds! Scamming people into believing they can make easy money with a crappy dropshipping store.
The only thing she has expertise in is scamming vulnerable people out of their money.
Her brother, Rick, does the same.
She now has a kid, and even uses her baby to promote her lies.
So sick.
BEWARE OF @our_visionarydesign
and report the account!!!
Scott shearsmith
Kieron Hamilton kez the guru
George linfield sofx
Jordan homer provectus
Tom watts fht
James watts fht
Lee Davis fht
All need and are due prison time