It recently came to light that scammers used the likeness of politician Gilles Baum of the Democratic Party (DP) on Facebook in a bid to obtain users' personal data.
What appeared to be a profile associated with the politician displayed a screenshot insinuating that he had received a substantial transfer to his account. According to the post accompanying the image, Baum purportedly invested in the stock market last year, resulting in significant profits. The post contains a link to a certain individual named Martin Perrson, described as a "mentor and coach" in financial matters.
Beneath the post, a photo on a mobile phone screen features Gilles Baum in the background, accompanied by a notification from Spuerkeess, indicating an almost €1 million transfer from "Global Stock" to the account.
Screenshot of the fraudulent post. While it is written in Luxembourgish, the text has clearly been machine-translated from another language. It mentions alleged investments in the stock market and profits that have been paid out. Tagged in the post is a certain Martin Perrsson, who is referred to as "my very trustworthy friend."
Several users left comments below the post that they had either attempted or planned to try the same investment.
But beware, this is a scam!
The primary objective of this fraudulent post is to lure unsuspecting individuals into sharing their personal data. Victims may invest money, expecting similar profits, only to face bitter disappointment when the funds disappear, and communication ceases.
To make the scam appear more credible, the scammers exploited the likeness of Gilles Baum, a Luxembourgish politician. Notably, the Facebook profile used does not belong to Baum himself. This account, active since 2018, copied photos from Baum's original profile and posted regularly during that year. The account appears to have been reactivated recently and was then used for this scam.
The fake account also sent friend requests to Gilles Baum's friends and acquaintances so that it would not be obvious at first glance that it was a fake profile.
However, this post has now exposed the fake account and Gilles Baum has taken action to block the fake account. The DP politician emphasised that the deceptive nature of the account might not have been immediately apparent to his friends, given that his photos were repeatedly copied and exploited for the creation of the fake profile.
Nevertheless, the fake account has been successfully blocked, and Baum, in a statement to our colleagues at RTL.lu, affirmed that he has never engaged in stock market investments nor received any substantial payouts.
This incident serves as a reminder to exercise caution when requesting or accepting friend requests on Facebook. Scammers can easily copy photos and use them to set up fake profiles.
For guidance on improving your online security, residents may refer to BEE SECURE, where valuable tips are readily available to help safeguard their digital presence (in French and German only).
