As cryptocurrency investment scams become more prevalent on social media, Jamaican World Under-20 champion Tina Clayton has fallen prey to the troubling trend and has lost her Instagram account to crypto scammers.
Following cryptocurrency’s meteoric rise, Instagram accounts created with stolen information to push fraudulent crypto schemes have become increasingly popular. The perpetrators frequently use social media to their advantage, copying user images and videos to build false profiles that entice victims with the prospect of enormous rewards on cryptocurrency investment.
According to a report from CNBC, consumers reported losing more than USD 80 million to cryptocurrency investment scams between October 2020 and March 2021.
Clayton’s account, which currently has the user name tin.a_clayton2, was seemingly hacked in mid-2022, forcing the young athlete to start a new page, realtinaclayton, in August 2022. The account tin.a_clayton2’s name has been changed twice, and according to Instagram data, the user is currently based in Nigeria.
The hacker’s latest post features an endorsement for an alleged forex (foreign exchange) trader named Laura Lee. They claimed Lee helped Clayton earn JMD 500,000 on her JMD 50,000 investment in the digital currency Bitcoin. The hacker also shared screenshots of an account that had received funds.
“I can’t believe bitcoin mining is real. I just invested in bitcoin mining and got credited. I invested JMD50,000 and got back JMD500,000 within
3 hours of investing. God bless @laura_lee_crypto_23. Go hit her up. She’s real legit and safe @laura_lee_crypto_23,” the caption stated.
Lee’s page boasts that she is “100% legitimate” and has a number of video testimonials from clients who praise her service. Viewers bashed the hacker, with one man claiming that this was not the first time they endorsed the service using Clayton’s name. The comments have since been disabled.
RELATED: Tia and Tina Clayton Signed as WATA Brand Ambassadors
The 18-year-old is one of Jamaica’s newest sprinting stars, with her and her sister Tia Clayton signing professional contracts with coach Stephen Francis’ MVP Track and Field Club last year. The sprinter recently demolished the competition at Saturday’s Gibson McCook Relays at the National Stadium, winning the women’s 60m final in 7.02 seconds and setting a new personal best.
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