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At this point it seems like QAnon devotees will believe anything, so it stands to reason that a massive scam is successfully parting them with their money by selling worthless " Trumpcoins."
The scammers are using social accounts to pose as celebrities pitching the coins, which cost $30 and are stamped with the face of former Republican President Donald Trump.
The scam, uncovered by podcasters Will Sommer and Asawin Suebsaeng, has been so successful that some celebrities have had to issue public statements confirming they are not selling the Trumpcoins.
Find the podcast below.
We've got a great Fever Dreams podcast out today, featuring the @QanonAnonymous crew: @julianfeeld @RealRockatansky and @travis_viewhttps://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpcoin-scam-from-fake-celebrity-accounts-is-fooling-qanon\u00a0\u2026— Will Sommer (@Will Sommer) 1633527027
As Sommer and Suebsaeng report, the coins are being hawked on Telegram, the social messaging app QAnon'ers and alt-right types flocked to after Facebook and Twitter banned their content following the January 6 coup attempt at the Capitol.
Accounts posing as Elon Musk, Kirstie Alley, Mel Gibson and, bizarrely, Denzel Washington have been hawking the $30 coins. The sellers claim the coins will skyrocket in value to as much as $4000 once Trump retakes the office of the Presidency--which they claim will happen any day now, as usual with QAnon.
Or, as the puppet account posing as Denzel Washington put it:
"THE LAST DAY IS HERE. The countdown has started. It's all part of the show, a show that will leave everyone speechless."
"Today is the last day and after this a lot of things will change...check the availability and order here at official Trumpcoins dot com."
Okay then.
The grift has been so successful that Alley apparently took to Twitter to confirm she has not been selling Trumpcoins, and a representative for Sylvester Stallone, another celebrity being impersonated in order to sell the coins, issued a statement confirming the actor does not even have a Telegram account.
While this whole thing seems absurd (Denzel Washington a Trump supporter? Really guys?), Sommer points out QAnon believers have essentially primed themselves to be grifted.
"I think the lesson of Trumpcoin is that when you have a situation like QAnon, these people have already self-identified as extremely gullible, and so a lot of people are then going to come in and sort of try to feed at the trough there."
In other words, when you believe not only the Democratic Party but the entire world is run by cannabalistic Satan-worshipping pedophiles who might also secretly be half-lizard or part reptile, a worthless $30 coin with Trump's face on it is probably the least of the things you can be convinced to pay money for.
On Twitter, this story had people shaking their heads.
QAnon world is being flooded with a currency scam in the form of \u2018Trumpcoins\u2019 peddled by fake celebrity accounts purporting to be Elon Musk, Mel Gibson, Kirstie Alley, and even Denzel Washington. \n\nThat QANON CROWD ARE NOT THAT BRIGHT— tom \ud83c\udf0a (@tom \ud83c\udf0a) 1633527447
I hope folks aren't emptying their retirement savings accounts in order to buy Trumpcoins thinking they're going to cash in when trump returns in all his glory. On second thought, a penniless old age may be just what they deserve.https://www.rawstory.com/trumpcoin/— Gini Kramer (@Gini Kramer) 1633524033
\u201cI think the lesson of Trumpcoin is that when you have a situation like QAnon, these people have already self-identified as extremely gullible."\n\nIndeed.https://twitter.com/willsommer/status/1445743255547613189\u00a0\u2026— Fed Up Republican (@Fed Up Republican) 1633536933
A fool and his money are soon parted https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1445765162238033924\u00a0\u2026— Twice vaxxed and still masked... (@Twice vaxxed and still masked...) 1633567232
Once you drink the Qoolaid, your destiny is set in stone.pic.twitter.com/5SaTMjZOu5— \u2728Bill\ud83d\ude0e#PardonRealityWinner\u2728#FireChuckTodd\u2728#BLM\u2728\ud83c\udf08 (@\u2728Bill\ud83d\ude0e#PardonRealityWinner\u2728#FireChuckTodd\u2728#BLM\u2728\ud83c\udf08) 1633532592
That's because they are an easy mark and everyone knows it.pic.twitter.com/4jGaTdsCRg— pam smith (@pam smith) 1633533336
5 years ago I would say \u201camazing\u201d anyone believed this...now I say \u201cI am not surprised\u201d— Louise (@Louise) 1633530474
"I think the lesson of Trumpcoin is that when you have a situation like QAnon, these people have already self-identified as extremely gullible,"\n\nAs long as you use all of the Trump buzzwords to sell it to them.. they\u2019ll buy anything.— StayAtHomeBrad (@StayAtHomeBrad) 1633530310
'Gullible' QAnon conspiracists scammed by bogus celebrities hawking 'Trumpcoin' https://www.rawstory.com/trumpcoin/\u00a0 Of course they were. These folks are "Ot-Nay Oo-Tay Ight-Bray" if you get my drift.— Ronald Nelson (@Ronald Nelson) 1633531375
When you're a mark, you're a mark all the way...https://www.rawstory.com/trumpcoin/— Portia McGonagal (@Portia McGonagal) 1633533589
According to Sommer and Suebsaeng a contingent has begun warning QAnon'ers the coins seems to be a scam originating from accounts based in Southeast Asia, but it's unclear if those warnings have had any effect.