Due to a recent uptick of impersonators and scam accounts, I want to clarify a few critical points regarding my communication and services.
My contact policy
- I will never contact anyone with any special opportunities, investment schemes, or other opportunities not available to the public. I will not reach out to you, and will certainly not ask you to send me money. I do not do this.
- My professional work is conducted only through MarketLife, where you can find my daily investment/market analysis and a number of courses I have created. This is the only way you can pay me.
- I publish on my blog and maintain a separate website for my music compositions. Some of my work is reposted on other sites with permission, but there will never be commercial opportunities attached.
- I do offer private one-on-one coaching, but I do not reach out to offer these services. This is very high-touch work for me, so there are limited spots with a waiting list and application process (that, frankly, might well involve asking several times until I get back to you to even start the process!).
My official social media accounts:
This is the complete list. If I add any more in the future, I’ll update this list.
Recent scams
There has been an increase in scams where impersonators create fake accounts using my graphics and content. Here’s how these scams typically work:
- A scammer makes a clone of one of my accounts. They will use my graphics and much (or even all) of the language of my accounts. It will not be a perfect clone, though. The username will not be adamhgrimes.
- They then post some content, likely entirely reposted from my real content, so the account is active and looks like me.
- They will then reach out to you, usually via a private message. Messages begin with niceties, and then proceed to the fraud.
My limitations
Unfortunately, there’s little I can do to prevent these scams. Social media platforms often refuse to delete these accounts, even if there is incontrovertible evidence of scamming. Yes, it’s frustrating. I don’t actually know why, but I suspect it’s because one of their main metrics is user numbers. They want and need numbers, even if they are low quality accounts.
The quality of your experience, or even your safety, is not really their central concern.
Rest assured that I, and my team, do everything we can do get these accounts deleted. But sometimes, even after dozens of reports from us and you, the platforms decide to allow the scammers to continue.
What can you do about this?
First of all, don’t fall for a scam. That’s the entire point of this blog—if you think I’m offering you a great “opportunity” in crypto, it’s not me and it’s not an opportunity! Check the username on the account contacting you carefully. None of mine have misspellings or numbers in them (aside from Discord).
Be suspicious and be careful. These accounts will always have a number or a misspelling in the account name. Mine don’t. Also, scammers are typically not native English speakers, so you’re likely to notice some grammatical errors or strange phrasing.
It probably does help if you immediately report the scammer to the platform. How to do this varies on each platform. Even if we don’t see quick results, it’s not completely worthless, and I suspect platforms will get better at dealing with this as AI advances.
Don’t block right away! If you block, you probably can’t report. (And that’s a major design flaw in these platforms.) Report first, then block.
Engage carefully. If you’re feeling brave, you can perhaps spend time with the scammer and waste their time and attention. They are only one person, so whatever you can do to waste their time probably has a cumulative impact. Just be careful, as this is not without risk.
Let me know what’s going on. Usually, the scammer’s first move is to block my real account so I cannot see or report them, but we do what we can through all channels.
Learn more
- John Oliver’s segment on scams (early 2024) highlights the complexity of the issue, including the fact that some scammers are victims themselves. Watch it here.
- The /scams subreddit can provide insights and support if you encounter anything suspicious. Visit the subreddit here.
Awareness is key. Together, we can reduce the impact of these scams. Stay vigilant and safe.
