Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs are being used by foreign online venture capitalists to fleece Barbadians of thousands of dollars.
A Sunday Sun investigative survey of various online WhatsApp groups has unearthed what is a growing daily threat to consumers.
Investors have reported several projects based on overseas platforms which suck unsuspecting individuals into what they describe as a form of quicksand.
Rene, Regan B and Sharon, whose real names have been withheld to protect their privacy, were among more than a dozen individuals discovered in WhatsApp groups to have invested between a few dollars to hundreds of dollars in a project known as AIRobot Profit.
Several investors told the newspaper they heard about the venture through friends online and were introduced to invest with links to the AIRobot Profit site.
They were offered various VIP levels of investment which required that they complete a task by clicking on a tab every 24 hours. Their funds could be withdrawn to an individual’s online wallet daily, for example a legitimate Binance, ByBit, Kucoin or another cryptocurrency exchange.
After some withdrawals had been made or in later stages just one or two, investors were informed there was a network capacity upgrade to be implemented which was associated with a high adoption of the service internationally and the investors needed to upgrade to a higher package.
Rene and several others reported that a few days after the upgrade, he was told he needed to buy a product in order to continue and the platform would continue to work well.
Sharon discovered she did not have the money to upgrade further. Rene reported frustration at being required first to upgrade, and after he
had upgraded was subsequently advised that he had no choice but to buy a product, estimated at US$155 to resume. AIRobot Profit customer service representatives on Telegram informed investors who found themselves stuck that initially their option was to wait 120 days and their principal would be returned. Another investor said this waiting period was changed from 120 days to 180 days.
Another similar project reported to be associated with a leading American telecommunication firm purportedly offers a free initial entry where there is no financial risk, and the individual may earn US$1.20. The “free” earnings were supposed to lead to an investment in a higher package with an opportunity to earn six dollars daily. This was also found to be fraudulent.
Vienna57, an investor in a WhatsApp group, reported she had had five successful withdrawals and indicated that her investment project was working.
Sunday Sun
investigations into a
WhatsApp group which was changed to protect and educate investors, found that at least two other sites were recommended to be unsafe.
AI venture and Creators Alliance recently left investors in Barbados and across the Caribbean with dark screens and thousands of dollars in losses.
Since 1983 and the collapse of Trade Confirmers Limited, a Trindadian investment firm which offered attractive returns backed by prominent marketing, Barbadians have been losing money to several projects which promise high returns.
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