Just when you thought Bitcoin scammers couldn’t stoop any lower, they’ve now taken to impersonating Buckingham Palace.
The fraudsters have reportedly sent letters requesting donations to save the UK economy – because people would totally fall for that, right?
The letters, dated September 16, claim this is the second time the Queen has reached out to a “certain number of people to save Great Britain’s economy” because “Brexit will happen quite quickly” – if only it were that easy!
For those of you unfamiliar with British politics, Brexit refers to the UK’s impending divorce from the European Union (EU).
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The highly complex and controversial process was sparked by a referendum in June 2016 and saw 51.9 percent of the population vote to leave. It was due to conclude on March 29, 2019.
Unsuccessful negotiations between the UK and the EU, and subsequent political turmoil in the UK, have resulted in significant delays, with Brexit now being scheduled to take place on October 31.
The alleged letter (apparently sent by the Queen’s private secretary) was revealed by Paul Ridden, the CEO of a UK-based IT firm, who posted a photo of the letter on his LinkedIn profile, making fun of the scammers‘ sad attempt.
The fraudsters allege that the Queen has already raised 82-percent of the $23 billion (£19 billion) that must be paid to the EU, but they need to “rise [sic] the rest until October 19, 2019.”
Then, in poor grammar, it continues: “By paying this amount to the European Union, we will be able to keep the economy going and inflation exactly as it is for a minimum period of 10 years and the future changes will not affect imports from EU countries.”
“We want this letter to remain anonymous as we do not wish the subject to go viral. This could affect the agreements we have in order to obtain the bilateral agreement,” it adds.
It’s not uncommon for criminals to get creative in order to siphon funds from unsuspecting victims, but in this instance their desire to think outside the box comes across as nothing short of pathetic.
Normally I’d urge people to remain vigilant against scams, but in this instance the lack of sophistication means I surely don’t have to.
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