An Omaha retiree suffered a major financial loss after being baited into a scam that used a fake association with Dave Ramsey, the popular financial advice show host.
Ellen Graham, a 72-year-old woman living on a fixed income in a subsidized apartment, sought to enhance her financial standing by following what she believed was guidance from Dave Ramsey, a figure she trusted for financial advice.
Unfortunately, her attempt to invest $2,000 turned out to be a bitcoin scam, orchestrated through a website carefully designed to mirror Ramsey's official platform.
"This is the phone one but it’s showing the real Dave Ramsey," Graham told 6 News on Omaha TV station WOWT, which first reported the story.
The scam is a part of an increasingly common trend in which fraudsters use deepfake technology to steal popular figures’ likenesses to lure unsuspecting victims.
"Deep fake technology is a form of technology that relied on famous people and impersonating the likeness of celebrities to weaponize opportunities," Josh Planos from the Better Business Bureau told 6 News.
The Treasury Department released a report Wednesday warning that artificial intelligence is making it easier for criminals to impersonate people and craft increasingly sophisticated email phishing attacks.
A new study from eHealth also hints at online fraud’s impact on retirees, with two-fifths (39 percent) of the seniors polled saying they’ve fallen victim to financial fraud and identity theft.
Graham engaged with the fake website, seeking reassurance that she was indeed interacting with Ramsey. Someone replied from the site’s messaging platform, falsely confirming they were the financial motivational speaker and evangelical Christian show host.
Later on the scammer, maintaining the guise, pressured her for more investment.
"He kept saying ‘You’ve got to have more money, you’ve got to have more money,'" Graham recalled.
A spoofed bitcoin wallet interface showed she had doubled her initial $2,000 deposit. But after checking on a different app, Graham discovered her account held only $5, and the fraudster had access to it.
Planos says the incident underscores the challenges consumers face in navigating online information, particularly on mobile devices where shortened URLs can make spotting fraudulent websites more difficult.
"On mobile devices, you’re already working with that abridged URL, so you are going to overlook things that are important and incredibly damaging for the consumer," he said.
The fake website has been reported to representatives for Ramsey’s program. They have reportedly escalated the matter to the show’s legal team, which is currently working to fend off multiple lawsuits.
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