Prominent Irish journalists Fintan O’Toole and Katie Hannon have become the latest public figures to be exploited in a series of fake online advertisements promoting cryptocurrency schemes. The scam ads, circulating on social media platforms, falsely attribute the journalists as endorsers of these fraudulent schemes, aiming to lure unsuspecting users into investing.
The advertisements are designed to appear as legitimate news stories, with one ad mimicking the style of the Irish Independent. The fabricated article claims that the Central Bank of Ireland is suing O’Toole over comments he allegedly made on live television. The ad features a doctored image of O’Toole, captioned: “Live on air, Fintan O’Toole regretted revealing the truth, but it was already too late.”
Fake Interviews and Endorsements
One of the scam ads goes as far as presenting a fake transcript of an interview between O’Toole and RTÉ journalist Katie Hannon. The supposed “deleted interview” contains numerous grammatical errors and even incorrectly identifies O’Toole as a woman. According to the bogus transcript, O’Toole accidentally disclosed a “loophole” that made him a millionaire. The ad claims that he offered Hannon €20,000 to remove the mention of the scheme, called Nearest Earn, from the interview.
Additionally, the fabricated interview portrays Hannon endorsing a cryptocurrency software that purportedly uses artificial intelligence for trading, with O’Toole allegedly urging viewers to sign up and deposit €250, promising they would never need to work again.
RTÉ presenters Maura Derrane and Claire Byrne are also falsely featured in the ads. Derrane is said to have invested €1.3 million in the scheme, while Byrne is depicted as having lost her job, only to supposedly earn over €13,000 weekly from the fraudulent investment.
Responses from Journalists
Katie Hannon has publicly denied any involvement in the scam, stating: “The messages are of course not real. Fintan O’Toole has never been on my show.” A spokesperson for RTÉ confirmed that both Derrane and Byrne have declined to comment on the matter.
The scam doesn’t stop with these journalists. Other versions of the ads have been designed to resemble headlines from the Irish Times, further spreading the false narrative. One particularly misleading headline reads: “It was a sad day for the whole Irish,” adding to the confusion and deceit. The social media posts are reportedly linked to malware websites, with users who click on the ads being redirected to malicious pages that can potentially download harmful software.
Not the First Time
This is not the first time well-known Irish figures have been exploited in cryptocurrency scams. Last December, Tánaiste Micheál Martin was falsely linked to a similar scheme. Following a High Court ruling, Google was ordered to reveal the identities of individuals who paid for ads falsely associating Martin with the scam.
Growing Threat of Online Scams
As online scams continue to evolve, fake advertisements targeting public figures have become increasingly sophisticated. The aim is to exploit their reputations to build trust with potential victims. Many of these ads are designed to resemble credible news sources, making it difficult for users to differentiate between legitimate and fraudulent content.
Social media platforms like Facebook have been under scrutiny for allowing such scams to proliferate. While some ads appear to be directed at Irish users, others are linked to foreign accounts, including one ad falsely tied to a Brazilian tourism company. Despite efforts to crack down on fraudulent ads, they remain a persistent issue.
This latest scam involving O’Toole and Hannon underscores the growing danger of misleading advertisements on social media and the importance of remaining vigilant online.
