Barefoot Investor Battles Crypto Fraud

Jimmy Aki
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Australian financial expert Scott Pape, popularly known as the Barefoot Investor, is taking a stand against crypto fraud schemes exploiting his identity. These scams involve impersonating Pape through fake Facebook groups and WhatsApp platforms to deceive unsuspecting investors.

Barefoot Investor Fights Back Against Crypto Fraud

These scams involve impersonating Pape through fake Facebook groups and WhatsApp platforms to deceive unsuspecting investors.

On December 23, the Australian reported that Pape revealed that his team had reported hundreds of fake Facebook groups to stop these scams.

However, when the scams persisted, he investigated by engaging with the fraudsters directly. Using a fake name, Pape joined one of the fraudulent WhatsApp groups, dubbed the “DB Wealth Institute.”

Once inside, Pape observed how the scammers worked to build trust. Each day, the group’s “professor” shared fake trading signals, and members—likely bots—flooded the chat with fabricated success stories.

“At 11 am each day, the Professor would give his trading signals. You were encouraged to post screenshots of your winnings in the WhatsApp group, which people did all day and all night,” Pape explained.

A network of fake press releases published on credible platforms like LinkedIn and Yahoo Finance bolstered the DB Wealth Institute scam.

These releases claimed the institute was a respected financial training organization offering advanced tools like “AI Financial Navigator 4.0.” However, regulators in the United States and other countries have consistently flagged such setups as fraudulent.

How Crypto Fraud Schemes Operate

Pape described the scam’s three-step formula: “The first step is confidence. The second step is greed. And the final — and most lucrative of all for the scammers — is fear.” The group initially encouraged small investments, showing quick profits to entice victims.

As trust grew, participants were pressured to invest tens of thousands of dollars in exclusive programs and often urged to borrow money.

When Pape followed the scammers’ advice to invest, he was told he had made an 81% profit in just ten minutes. Afterwards, the scammers intensified their tactics, with an assistant named “Ally” bombarding him with messages urging him to commit larger sums.

The group eventually unveiled high-stakes programs requiring investments ranging from $20,000 to $5 million.

Pape’s experience sheds light on the growing prevalence of crypto fraud.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis revealed that $2.2 billion was lost to scams and hacks in 2024, a sharp increase from $1.8 billion in 2023.

Fraudsters increasingly exploit social media and messaging apps to target vulnerable individuals.

By 2024, North Korean hackers have emerged as a major threat in the crypto world, stealing over $1.3 billion through 47 hacking incidents, as reported by Chainalysis. This marks a dramatic rise compared to 2023, with North Korea now responsible for 61% of global crypto thefts.

About Jimmy Aki PRO INVESTOR

Based in the UK, Jimmy is an economic researcher with outstanding hands-on and heads-on experience in Macroeconomic finance analysis, forecasting and planning. He has honed his skills having worked cross-continental as a finance analyst, which gives him inter-cultural experience. He currently has a strong passion for regulation and macroeconomic trends as it allows him peek under the global bonnet to see how the world works.