“Would you like to work with the Trump administration?” It was with this question that a scammer tried to hook me, exploiting dreams and ambitions to trap me in a web of deceit. A targeted and sophisticated attack, aiming at a specific target with the promise of an unmissable opportunity.The scammers, after months of watching my profile, staged a precise plan, designed to appear authentic.
Apparently, I was the ideal candidate: a journalist with a known fondness for Donald Trump, who would have been thrilled by an opportunity of that level. But what seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime soon turned out to be an elaborate attempt at fraud, aimed at embezzling money and personal information.The initial contact came through Citizen, a follower of mine on Instagram who, after months of liking and commenting on my posts about American politics, wrote to me asking if I would be interested in direct contact with the Trump administration. She told me that Kari Lake’s sister (a well-known face of the Republicans, running in 2022 for governor of Arizona) was a neighbour of hers and that, being connected to Trump’s transition team, she could facilitate this connection. The proposal was intriguing and there and then I believed it, so I followed Sarah Lake’s (private) Instagram profile. When she accepted my request I wrote to her, and Sarah immediately introduced herself as someone very close to the Trump team.
Subsequently, Sarah granted direct access to personalities such as Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr. and Tucker Carlson, writing in an email: “This is the fastest way to get to Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka, Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk. Important decisions are made at that level, and I will be the one to guide you to get there.” He went even further, adding that they were looking for ‘independent journalists in Europe who can work directly with the new team to fight censorship’, painting the whole operation as an extraordinary professional opportunity. Immediately afterwards, he asked me to send examples of my journalistic work to prove my worth and get the green light from an alleged personal assistant to Donald Trump Jr.
After praising my articles, Sarah asked me to send them to the email address of this ‘assistant’. Again, this was not an official address, but a Gmail that contained 47GOP and some numbers: an obvious reference to the fact that Trump is the 47th president plus GOP, which is the acronym of the Republican Party. Shortly afterwards, I received a reply from the aide, who wrote: ‘Why do we only know about you now? You are exactly the kind of person we are looking for.”
The email went on to explain that Sarah would write to me shortly to explain how to proceed. Shortly thereafter, Sarah began making more explicit demands, including the payment of sums for ‘logistics and reservations’ related to a meeting to be held in Washington in early February. In an email, she indicated that the costs amounted to $80,000, half of which I would personally have to cover through a payment in Bitcoin. In return, I was promised a refund of $300,000 and other benefits once I was integrated into Trump’s communications team.
At that point, having realised that this was a scammer, I decided to go along with it, curious to see how far they would go and how they would try to trick me.The scammers used strategic language to appeal to my emotions. Phrases like ‘you are lucky’ and ‘this is a unique opportunity’ or ‘the sky will be your only limit’ were designed to create a sense of gratitude and obligation. At the same time, they pressed me to act quickly, emphasising that timing was essential to ensure my inclusion in the project.
The pressure increased with phrases like: ‘This is your chance, show that you are ready for the big stage.’At first I got involved, but as soon as the message exchange started I wanted to investigate further. I have a lot of experience with political and institutional relations, and have had contact with Trump’s entourage in the past.
I have always related to people with a first and last name, with verifiable profiles and official emails. These details were completely lacking in this case, so I decided to look into it.I did an online search on ‘Sarah Lake’ to check for any connections to Kari Lake, without getting any hits. Examining her Instagram profile, I noticed details that didn’t add up: her followers didn’t include any figures traceable to Trump or his entourage, and most of the comments and likes on her posts came from clearly fake profiles. Her photos portrayed her as a very attractive woman – in all likelihood they had been stolen from a real account – and were alternated with content taken from Trump’s, the Republican Party’s and Kari Lake’s official profiles.
All these clues revealed the picture of a well-constructed but inauthentic fraud.In the end, the conversation ended when it became clear that the real goal was to obtain money and personal information. I reported the profiles and emails involved to Instagram and Gmail, after which I took screenshots of all the conversations and blocked them.
This attempted fraud followed a well-thought-out plan, exploiting various tactics to appear credible.
Careful selection of the target audience:
By monitoring my profile for months, the scammers analysed my work and my political views, constructing a personalised approach.
Use of familiar names:
Crediting themselves as people close to Kari Lake, Donald Trump Jr., Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson served to legitimise the narrative.
Unrealistic promises:
Offering a high reimbursement ($300,000) and direct access to influential figures was a ploy to make the offer irresistible.
Requests for payment via cryptocurrencies:
the request to use Bitcoin is a clear sign of fraud, since such transactions are difficult to trace.
Psychological manipulation:
Through compliments, promises of success and emotional pressure, the fraudsters attempted to lower the victim’s defences.
Timing:
The choice of the day before Inauguration Day is not accidental, but functional to increase the pressure and reinforce the concept of now or never. This scam attempt demonstrates the high level of sophistication of some online frauds, which combine emotional manipulation, false promises and a targeted study of the victim’s profile. Not surprisingly, the chronicle has also told us of very prominent people who have naively fallen into the net of braggarts who intended to defraud them.
Here are some important lessons
Verification of information:
it is imperative to check the identity of those offering job opportunities.
Be wary of requests for money:
especially when linked to cryptocurrencies or other untraceable payment methods.
Report promptly:
Reporting suspicious activities to digital platforms is essential to protect yourself and others.I decided to share this experience to make everyone aware of the risks we run in the digital world.
This scam is particularly devious because it cleverly exploits emotions, leveraging personal ambitions and using moral blackmail to induce impulsive reactions. It is an important lesson in how essential it is to keep one’s guard up and not get carried away by enthusiasm or pressure. Dreamers yes, fools no.