Reports have surfaced indicating that users of Truth Social, the social media platform created by Donald Trump, have allegedly fallen victim to scams resulting in the loss of substantial sums of money. According to complaints obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, a significant number of elderly supporters of the former president have been affected by such fraudulent activities.
The accounts revealed by Gizmodo highlight instances where individuals, particularly older users, have been scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars on Truth Social. In one case, a person in their 60s claimed to have lost up to $500,000 to scammers on the platform, expressing hope for the recovery of their assets after additional payments. Another user reported a loss of $170,000 after being deceived on another site and then approached on Truth Social with promises of recovering the funds, which turned out to be a further scam.
The complaints disclosed that many victims were initially contacted on Truth Social before being directed to continue the conversations on external platforms like WhatsApp. Several cases involved what are commonly known as “romance scams,” where users, including a 72-year-old man, were swindled out of money after engaging with individuals under false pretences on the social media platform.
In another instance, a user in their 70s narrated being conned into investing in a non-existent business by a stranger on Truth Social, resulting in a loss of $120,000. The varied nature of the scams included requests for money under false pretences, feigned personal relationships, and promises of repayment that never materialised, leaving victims devastated by the financial implications.
Efforts to reach Truth Social for comments on the reported scams on their platform have been made, but no official response has been received at the time of writing. The platform, touted as promoting open and honest conversations on a global scale since its launch in February 2022, boasts approximately two million users. As more details emerge about the extent of the financial scams impacting Truth Social users, concerns are growing among the online community regarding the safety and security of interactions on the platform.