Trump's truth involves scammers ripping off users

Truth Social users say they've lost thousands to online scams on the platform, with some victims getting away with six-figure sums.

The complaint, filed with the Federal Trade Commission, obtained by Gizmodo, details countless schemes by fraudsters using Donald Trump's social media platforms over the past two years.

Many of the app's users, especially retired “boomers” with life savings, have fallen for “pig butchering” scams in which a grifter lures a person into buying into a dubious investment scheme, tricking the victim into making larger contributions, making money.

“Scammers often give victims access to a website that shows a certain dollar amount in 'their' account but the money is long gone,” the report explained. “They are not sitting there to withdraw. It's just a ruse for the victim to see their fictitious money grow, luring them to 'invest' more.”

Several of these older users “don't understand that the amount they see at their end that is supposedly sitting in an account is completely fictitious.”

A Minnesota user between the ages of 60 and 64 claimed to have lost $500,000 after being lured into investing in cryptocurrency. According to their complaint, the fraudster continuously misled them into paying various fees for transferring investments to their bank accounts. “After I paid it they promised no more fees and I would get my assets,” Shikar said.

Another victim, who reported losing $170,000, said they were first scammed on a different site but were connected to someone on Truth Social who offered to “get their money back” before scamming them. Usually, however, victims are contacted on Truth Social first before being lured elsewhere like WhatsApp.

Truth Social's seemingly target-rich environment is also home to romance scams, including one 72-year-old man who reported that, after chatting with a “beautiful” woman on the app, he got away with $21,000. “I did not tell my wife about this mistake. He still doesn't know about it,” her complaint read.

A group representing Truth Social's parent company, Trump Media and Technology Group, told Gizmodo that they have “a strong team that actively searches for scams and bots on the platform and bans them as soon as they are found.”

The troubling report comes as the chief operating officer of Trump Media and Technology Group resigned; The complaint is attached to a whistleblower complaint regarding mismanagement of his departure.

Days before Schock's resignation, one of the company's major shareholders announced they had sold their stake in the operation, which had long been losing money and struggling to raise revenue.