It’s no secret that scammers are always on the lookout for new ways to cheat people out of their money.

Fraudsters are now utilising online platforms — such as email and social media — to trick people into thinking that they are interacting with legitimate people who have no ill intent towards them.

And it seems like they particularly target celebrities too, with hoaxes, scams and fraudulent sites popping up more and more often these days.

In fact, Sunrise co-host David 'Kochie' Koch recently took to Instagram to warn his followers that some of these dubious sources had been using his image.

​

In his post, Kochie pointed out that in order for the scammers to trick people into clicking on risky links, they use his image along with fictitious, intriguing captions such as 'The Scandal That Left Everybody Shocked' and 'He Said How He Makes His Money'.

'Beware…2023 and the financial scams keep on coming more than ever,' the TV presenter wrote on Instagram alongside some examples of the ads.

'The one on the left came up on @realestateaus as I was scrolling the site. The one on the right was sent to me yesterday from Instagram.'

Another version showed Kochie behind fake prison bars next to a blurred photo of a person that bore some resemblance.

He continued: 'They are scams trying to con you by illegally using my image and attributing fictitious comments to me.'

This isn’t the first time Koch has warned his followers. He said in October last year that the scammers were ‘getting out of control’.

David Koch warned fans not to click on suspicious links bearing his image as scammers are using his photos to lure victims. Credit: Instagram.

He urged his fans to not click on any links to suspicious articles using his image and added that he had reported the ads to the ACCC.

Many of David Koch's supporters argued that these social media companies ought to do more to stop the spread of these deceptive articles.

One person wrote: 'Instagram and Facebook have the ability to stop all these scams. They seem to choose not to.'

'The problem is people still fall for these scams,' another person added.

'I don’t understand how that happens.'

Key Takeaways

• David Koch warned his followers about scammers using his image to entice people into clicking on suspicious links.
• The scams include captions such as 'the scandal that left everybody shocked' and 'he said how he makes his money'.
• Kochie has raised awareness in the past that these types of scams are becoming more frequent and should be reported to the ACCC.
• One commenter on Koch’s post stated that social media platforms should be doing more to combat the prevalence of these fake articles.
• People have also expressed their confusion as to why some still fall for these scams.

Members, this story is a crucial reminder of how important it is to be aware of online scams.

If you ever come across an ad or link that looks suspicious, don’t click on it! Always do research beforehand to ensure the offer is legitimate and has real reviews from other customers.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of a scam, then report it to your local authorities as soon as possible. You can do so by reporting it to ACCC’s ScamWatch.

Have you ever been a victim of a scam? Share some tips on how to identify a scam in the comments below.

 

[poppyshero]

i recently left a positive comment on a well known English sports stars site. Within days i started receiving texts supposedly from the sportsman, asking me to sign up to another website i had never heard off to talk privately with him. I immediately wondered why he would pick me to talk to over his thousands of followers, and deemed it to be a scam. I currently receive what i believe to be scams nearly every day of the week.

 

[mummygoth]

It’s no secret that scammers are always on the lookout for new ways to cheat people out of their money.

Fraudsters are now utilising online platforms — such as email and social media — to trick people into thinking that they are interacting with legitimate people who have no ill intent towards them.

And it seems like they particularly target celebrities too, with hoaxes, scams and fraudulent sites popping up more and more often these days.

In fact, Sunrise co-host David 'Kochie' Koch recently took to Instagram to warn his followers that some of these dubious sources had been using his image.

​

In his post, Kochie pointed out that in order for the scammers to trick people into clicking on risky links, they use his image along with fictitious, intriguing captions such as 'The Scandal That Left Everybody Shocked' and 'He Said How He Makes His Money'.

'Beware…2023 and the financial scams keep on coming more than ever,' the TV presenter wrote on Instagram alongside some examples of the ads.

'The one on the left came up on @realestateaus as I was scrolling the site. The one on the right was sent to me yesterday from Instagram.'

Another version showed Kochie behind fake prison bars next to a blurred photo of a person that bore some resemblance.

He continued: 'They are scams trying to con you by illegally using my image and attributing fictitious comments to me.'

This isn’t the first time Koch has warned his followers. He said in October last year that the scammers were ‘getting out of control’.

David Koch warned fans not to click on suspicious links bearing his image as scammers are using his photos to lure victims. Credit: Instagram.

He urged his fans to not click on any links to suspicious articles using his image and added that he had reported the ads to the ACCC.

Many of David Koch's supporters argued that these social media companies ought to do more to stop the spread of these deceptive articles.

One person wrote: 'Instagram and Facebook have the ability to stop all these scams. They seem to choose not to.'

'The problem is people still fall for these scams,' another person added.

'I don’t understand how that happens.'

Key Takeaways

• David Koch warned his followers about scammers using his image to entice people into clicking on suspicious links.
• The scams include captions such as 'the scandal that left everybody shocked' and 'he said how he makes his money'.
• Kochie has raised awareness in the past that these types of scams are becoming more frequent and should be reported to the ACCC.
• One commenter on Koch’s post stated that social media platforms should be doing more to combat the prevalence of these fake articles.
• People have also expressed their confusion as to why some still fall for these scams.

Members, this story is a crucial reminder of how important it is to be aware of online scams.

If you ever come across an ad or link that looks suspicious, don’t click on it! Always do research beforehand to ensure the offer is legitimate and has real reviews from other customers.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of a scam, then report it to your local authorities as soon as possible. You can do so by reporting it to ACCC’s ScamWatch.

Have you ever been a victim of a scam? Share some tips on how to identify a scam in the comments below.

As he's not on my list of trusted faces I'm unlikely to follow any links showing him. Having said that I don't follow links on facebook at all. One panic stricken visit to the local nerds was more than enough, fortunately no damage done.

 

[Staffordshire Whippet]

No way I'll be scammed by this one.
The mere sight of his smarmy baldy head is enough to make me go elsewhere, fast.

 

[DaveB]

Kochie is not the only one that has been scammed that way. There have been photos of other luminaries, such as Twiggy Forrest, Dick Smith, also used to promote bitcoin investments.