David Koch's warning to fans over new online scam: "They are digital cockroaches"
<p><em>Sunrise</em> host David Koch has warned viewers about another scam he has been caught up in without his consent.</p>
<p>Last year, he took to social media to warn about an “erectile dysfunction cream” scam that was endorsed by him. It wasn’t true.</p>
<p>Now Kochie has found himself at the centre of another scam, this time related to Bitcoin investment.</p>
<p>The TV host took to Instagram to warn fans of the scam with a lengthy post.</p>
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<div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div>
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<p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BymZ_cgA7j0/" target="_blank">SCAM WARNING; ANY STORY OR ADVERTISEMENT CLAIMING THE KOCH’S RECOMMEND BITCOIN AS AN INVESTMENT IS A SCAM It is driving us crazy the con artists using Libby and I as bait to lure people into investing in Bitcoin. Facebook are doing their best to take them down but then they pop back up using different offshore servers. Technology has connected us to family, friends and work associates like never before. Unfortunately it has connected us to scammers like never before as well. And their scams have never been more sophisticated. Fleecing millions of dollars from unsuspecting Australians every month. Email has become such a natural part of our life and communication that we’re lured into a false sense of security and can easily fall for a scam. It’s why we respond naturally to the supposed Netflix notice to unblock the account, PayPal wanting to confirm our bank details and the fake invoices from Telstra, Optus and energy companies. All scams but, dangerously, all so authentic and logical. Now there are even robot phone calls supposedly from the Australian Tax Office claiming you haven’t lodged past tax returns and threatening to commence immediate legal action if you don’t call them back. What makes it heartbreaking for me is hearing from victims who have been conned by Facebook scammers illegally using my image to fleece average Australians from their hard earned money. The 65 year old who emailed me after losing $400 on an erectile dysfunction cure or the 30 year old who lost $10,000 after investing in a Bitcoin fund which I was supposedly endorsing. I constantly report these scams to Facebook, but as soon as they are taken down the scams come back on a different server. They are digital cockroaches... nothing can kill them. Just for the record, I don’t endorse anything except my book (Kochie’s 11 Step Money Plan... for a better life) and online financial literacy course (www.moneymakeover.com.au). So your scammer survival plan include; . Never, ever, give your password, bank details or Tax File Number to anyone online or over the phone. No legitimate company will for those details. . Review your security and privacy details on social media and be careful with</a></p>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/kochie_online/" target="_blank"> Kochie_Online</a> (@kochie_online) on Jun 11, 2019 at 11:44pm PDT</p>
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<p>“SCAM WARNING; ANY STORY OR ADVERTISEMENT CLAIMING THE KOCH’S RECOMMEND BITCOIN AS AN INVESTMENT IS A SCAM,” the post reads.</p>
<p>“It is driving us crazy the con artists using Libby and I as bait to lure people into investing in Bitcoin. Facebook are doing their best to take them down but then they pop back up using different offshore servers,” he continued.</p>
<p>He also called the scammers “digital cockroaches”.</p>
<p>“They are digital cockroaches... nothing can kill them. Just for the record I don't endorse anything except my book<span> </span><em>Kochie's 11 Step Money Plan</em>,” he joked. </p>
<p>Koch also expressed sympathy for those who fell victim to the scam.</p>
<p>“What makes it heartbreaking for me is hearing from victims who have been conned by Facebook scammers illegally using my image to fleece average Australians from their hard earned money.</p>
<p>“The 65-year-old who emailed me after losing $400 on an erectile dysfunction cure or the 30-year-old who lost $10,000 after investing in a Bitcoin fund which I was supposedly endorsing,” he expressed. </p>
<p>In September last year, he took to Twitter to defend himself from any association with the erectile dysfunction treatment.</p>
<p>“For those who might be tempted... be warned the erectile dysfunction advertisements doing the rounds online using my image are fake.”</p>
<p>Koch is not the first celebrity to fall victim to these scams, with fake celebrity endorsements using the images of Carrie Bickmore, Jessica Rowe and Lisa Wilkinson, alongside Karl Stefanovic as well as Koch. </p>