Finfluencer
What Are Finfluencers?
The term “finfluencer” is made up of the words “finance” and “influencer”. It refers to people on social media who give tips, tricks, advice, and similar content about financial topics, for example saving money or investing.
Their content is usually short and designed to be as easy to understand as possible in order to reach many people. For beginners in the world of finance, this can often be helpful and provide a useful overview and orientation. Unfortunately, as in many other industries, there are also scammers in this area who only want your money in order to enrich themselves.
How Can I Recognise Untrustworthy Finfluencers?
First of all, it is important to say that investments that sound too good to be true usually are. There are many finfluencers on social media who advertise an unbelievable luxury lifestyle and promise you a lot of money in a very short time, without explaining the risks or even mentioning risks at all.
Potentially unsafe investment platforms are often promoted, and the finfluencer earns money when you sign up and invest. It does not matter whether you lose money or make a profit. This creates an incentive for them to attract as many customers as possible using exaggerated and manipulative methods.
One popular form of manipulation is “social homophily”, meaning the tendency to trust people who appear to have similar values and characteristics to yourself. Many claim that they were “once at rock bottom” too, just like their target audience, but that they “made it all the way to the top” through the investment method they are selling. This emotional manipulation is dangerous, and if you come across posts like this, it is better not to interact with them.
Fake finfluencers are also becoming an increasing problem. These are scammers who often assume the identity of legitimate investors or financial experts in order to systematically take your money. AI is now also being used to create fake videos. The faces most commonly used are those of Frank Thelen, Marc Friedrich, and Dirk Müller.
The usual method is to build trust through a familiar face and then invite you into a WhatsApp group where you are supposedly given insider tips and can make a lot of money. You and many others then deliberately buy a specific stock. This artificially drives up the value of the stock. The scammers, who had already invested money in the formerly cheap stock beforehand, then sell their shares and disappear with a large profit. You and many other retail investors are left with major losses.
Reputable finfluencers, on the other hand, explain not only the opportunities but also the risks. If they advertise something or receive commissions, this should be clearly labelled. Instead of secret tips for getting rich quickly, they are more likely to teach you the basics of investing and use public, reputable sources to do so.
What Should I Do If I Fall for Scammers?
If you have lost a lot of money through an investment, your first step should be to contact your bank as quickly as possible. It may still be possible to reverse the transactions if you act in time.
The next step is to secure evidence. Save chat histories, transactions, accounts, and any other relevant information. The more relevant information you collect, the better. You can then go to the police and file a report.
You should also report the scammers’ social media profiles to the consumer protection authorities. It is also a good idea to inform friends and relatives in order to protect them from fraud and financial loss.
By taking these steps, you can help ensure that everything possible is done to catch the perpetrators and keep the damage as low as possible.
Sources
https://www.youtube.com/live/xYIu9fIgaP8
https://taz.de/Finfluencer-auf-sozialen-Medien/!6104937/
https://www.investmentweek.com/wie-anleger-mit-fake-finfluencern-systematisch-abgezockt-werden/
https://finanzielle.de/immer-mehr-fake-accounts-auf-instagram-so-schuetzt-du-dein-geld/
https://www.deutschlandfunknova.de/beitrag/finfluencer-serioese-finanzexperten-erkennen
