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My younger brother, Aaron, got into crypto last year after watching countless reels and TikToks showing people making money from trading. Eventually, he stumbled upon an Instagram account named @CryptoCoachElite, which looked incredibly legitimate. The page had over 80k followers, dozens of testimonials, and videos of the so-called coach giving financial tips in expensive suits in exotic locations.

This “coach” messaged Aaron directly and offered a limited-time mentorship program. He claimed he only worked with a few people at a time and that Aaron had been “selected” after liking a few posts. At first, Aaron was skeptical, but the coach sent screenshots of student profits, glowing testimonials, and even encouraged him to join a private Telegram group filled with what looked like successful students praising him daily.

Aaron paid $500 in USDT for a one-month mentorship. After payment, he was added to another “VIP” Telegram group where the coach gave daily trading signals. But soon after, things started to feel off. The signals were vague, the profits didn’t match what was promised, and when Aaron asked for help, he was told he needed to upgrade to a “pro package” for $1,000 more to unlock “real” strategies.

He refused—and the next day, he was removed from the group, blocked on Instagram, and ghosted completely.

That’s when we started digging. The influencer’s photos were mostly stolen from stock image sites, and many of the testimonials had identical wording across other scam accounts with different usernames. It was a sophisticated scam, one that plays on emotion and aspiration, especially for young people eager to make it big.

Aaron learned a hard lesson: if someone on social media is pushing hard for upfront payment while promising guaranteed success, it’s probably a scam. No legitimate coach cold-messages people and demands crypto payment with no contract or traceability.</span>