On 4 April 2024 at 21.10 broadcasts France 2 “Cash Investigation: Easy money: the false promises of influencers“, a documentary film directed by Mathieu Robert.
Mathieu Robert: “You play in markets where you risk losing”
They all make the same promise: Get rich with just a few clicks. Their names are Laurent Billionaire, Marc Blata or Julien Bert, are followed by millions of people and have multiplied the videos to convince their subscribers to bet on very risky financial products. This is called copy trading. Child’s play at first glance: it would be enough to invest a sum of money and then “copy” the financial positions sent by these influencers. Except some subscribers will bet too much and lose everything. Every year, thousands of French people are fooled, some losing tens of thousands of euros in the adventure.
Who are these scam influencers? “Often these are influencers that you know through reality TV, then you follow them on Instagram and TikTok because you like them and they make you laugh. They show you their life, their family… And overnight they talk to you about making their fortune. They give you advice. And there begins the trap. People will start putting 100 euros on a trading platform. Except you’re playing markets where you risk losing. You have an 8 out of 10 chance of losing“, explained Mathieu Robert.
.@EliseLucet – @cashinvestigati on influencers, complaints
“150 complaints concern Marc Blata, the next is Laurent Billionnaire. A law has been passed, there will be investigations, even if they are in Dubai” https://t.co/aHj8QI0Zrd pic.twitter.com/5zw3kxedBQ
— Sud Radio (@SudRadio) 3 April 2024
“There are two investigations against Marc Blatta, especially for organized gang fraud”
How many are these fraud influencers? “Behind these influencers, who are very well-known, there are dozens who are not well-known. I started my research by posting money on TikTok. And you have dozens of young people with lots of cash. And our children are exposed to that, they see young people who say: ‘in 5 minutes I earned the salary of your teacher who gives you the lesson’“, answered Mathieu Robert.
The French who fell into the trap with these influencers joined together to sue these influencers together, says Mathieu Robert. “There is a collective that has been created, the collective to help victims of influencers. There are 150 complaints against Marc Blatta. There are two investigations against Marc Blatta, specifically for organized gang fraud.“
Can we say that it is the fault of these people that they fell into the trap? “When you are alone at home and watch videos, stories all day long that tell you the same thing, when you see that there are people like you and me who are successful… you say to yourself: ‘why not me? am i dumber than anyone else? I go’. That’s the risk. They were gullible, but it can happen to all of us eventually“, answered Mathieu Robert.
Find the “Media guest” by Gilles Ganzmann every day from 10:00 in “Sud Radio Média” with Valérie Expert.
Click here to find the full media podcast interview.