A knock off copy of the BBC homepage is being used as part of a scam to try and convince people to hand over their cash.
The page is a decent facsimile of the Beeb’s homepage, and integrates elements of a Bitcoin-themed documentary that aired on Panorama back in 2018 as part of the elaborate deception.
The BBC is currently looking about the best way to respond, but currently links to the dodgy site are mostly propagating through hacked email accounts, promoting this Bitcoin Trader branding.
The fake BBC page has an article on it that describes an “underground banking system” that promises to make people rich, showing the case study of one person who invested a small three figure sum and turned it into almost £900.000.
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This isn’t the first time that a Bitcoin scam has been linked to the BBC, and adverts last year emerged on social media claiming that investors from Dragons Den had backed a new bitcoin trading platform, while another claimed that Sir Alan Sugar had quit his role on The Apprentice to help grow the platform. Many people involved denied this, but regardless this scam could easily catch people out. These scams also rocked the Bitcoin Trader branding.
If you’re worried, take a look at the address. This address doesn’t use an official BBC address (BBC.co.uk or BBC.com) and if you don’t recognise the domain, it’s probably wise to steer clear. Similarly, if anything online seems too good to be true, it probably is.
The best defence against online scams is vigilance and common sense. Ensure that you’re confident about anywhere that wants you to spend money and that’s especially true for anywhere that’s trying to get you to chuck money into something quickly.
Have you recieved this scam? Did you nearly fall for it? We’re on Twitter at @TrustedReviews
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
