- A scammer created a fake X account mimicking Bermuda’s Premier David Burt, complete with a grey verification checkmark, to promote a fraudulent “Bermuda National Coin” crypto.
- The incident occurred while Premier Burt was having Valentine’s dinner, leading to reported losses of up to US$1.2 million before the fake account was removed.
- This scam joins a series of recent cryptocurrency frauds, including similar impersonation incidents involving Argentina’s President Milei and controversies surrounding Trump’s memecoin launch.
Bermuda. What comes to mind when you hear the name of this British island territory in the North Atlantic Ocean? Perhaps the infamous Bermuda Triangle, or the set of a number of James Bond movies.
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But Bermuda has now also become a scene of modern-day crypto scamming. During said scam, someone impersonated the premier of the island nation, David Burt, and promoted a fake crypto token called “Bermuda National Coin”.
Now-Deleted Account Impersonates Premier
The scammer used a fake account on platform X, posting under the same name as Burt. Unlike the premier’s real account, the scammer managed to get a grey checkmark – usually reserved for representatives of government or multilateral organisation – while Burt’s real account has a blue checkmark.
The scammer’s account, created this month, had four times more followers than Burt’s, which is over ten years old.
The premier said he was having dinner with his wife when out of the blue he received several calls about the scam. He also questioned how X would let the scammer get a grey verification – perhaps Musk’s busy schedule with other government-related operations stops him from paying attention to X.
At Valentines Dinner with my wife, and get multiple calls that someone is trying to scam users. This is a fake account and a scam. Elon Musk and X, not sure how they get a Grey Verification badge, but people will get scammed due to the lack of controls on this app.
David Burt, Premier of BermudaAs per Bernews, the fake account and all the related posts have been removed over the weekend. However, the damage was done, with reports of losses up to US$1.2 million (AU$1.9 million).
Increasing Scams Haunt Crypto Industry
The scam is just one of many recent events that continue to damage the reputation of the crypto sector. Javier Milei, the President of Argentina recently promoted a scam token called Viva La Libertad.
The posts on X, which are now deleted, have raised eyebrows as people seem to be increasingly scrutinising the sector, following US President Donald Trump’s memecoin launch.
Milei later said he wasn’t aware of the “details of the project” and condemned his political opponents for seemingly “taking advantage” to cause him harm.
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Trump’s Memecoin is also losing interest, with trading volume fading, as the president faces public criticism over the coin launch.
A New York Times report had alleged that the Trump family collected close to US$100 million (AU$157 million) in trading fees for the memecoin.
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