It’s not only regulators that are hampering Facebook’s crypto party. Now, somewhat ironically, the social media giant is dealing with Facebook Libra impersonators as well.
Fake Facebook Libra Ads Surge
As if Zuckerberg and his team didn’t have enough to contend with as governments around the world scramble to halt the project. Now, receiving a dose of its own medicine, the social media giant is facing what the Washington Post calls “waves” of fraudulent pages.
This will be a major test as to whether Facebook can prove to regulators that it can combat the fraud that will certainly surround its new payment system.
As of Monday of this week, at least a dozen fake accounts, groups, and pages had already appeared on Facebook and Instagram. They’re all purporting to sell Libra coins at a discount–even though Facebook’s coin isn’t available yet.
Buy Libra Coins at a Discounted Price They Say
The company has been swift to react and remove the majority of fake pages, but unfortunately it’s like shovelling snow while it’s still snowing. Not only are these pages and websites becoming more prevalent, but the are also getting significantly more sophisticated. The phishing scam website, BuyLibraCoins.com, for example, has a particularly slick website design:
It’s offering people to take part in the presale and buy Libra coins easily with BTC, ETH, LTC, or even a credit card. With a Switzerland domicile, this website even has a copy of the whitepaper, a Libra referral program, roadmap, and various informative infographics. But be warned, this IS a scam.
Kudos to these scammers, it’s an incredibly good-looking site. But we don’t recommend visiting it. When I tried on my PC, thankfully Metamask averted me to the fact that the site was already on its warning list as an Etherscam.
It’s a good thing that entities such as the Washington Post and Metamask have been so vigilant when it comes to fraudsters.
Facebook itself has so far failed to identify most of the fake Libra pages on its own. This will do little to boost its case against regulators- or confidence in potential consumers.
Facebook’s Crypto Ad Ban – Oh, the Irony
The irony certainly won’t be lost on thousands of ICO projects that were prohibited from advertising on the platform in early 2018.
According to Facebook at the time, the company wanted to protect users against misleading projects and “deceptive promotional practices.” Exactly what Facebook is experiencing now.
What do you think of these Libra scams? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images via Shutterstock, Metamask
