Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on November 15, 2022, 2:40 am

I first noticed this some days ago.

And it felt off right away.

I thought "who is so dumb to ask for investment advice on YouTube's comment section?"

It also didn't add up that people with that much spare income would behave so naively, since there is a link between financial means, (financial) knowledge, and even power awareness.

However, I didn't fully realize what was going on.

Then I saw it once again on this video.
And since I don't believe too much in these types of coincidences, I finally put 2 and 2 together.

I read through the comments, and it was exactly the scam I thought it was.

It goes on like this:

1. Guy 1 tries to gain a reputation for "normal Joe" struggling and looking for honest advice
2. Guy 2 shares about his exceptional financial returns while self-framing as an honest "average Joe" who's sharing his experience
3. Guy 3 asks how he achieved those returns
4. Guy 2 shares the scammer/advertising individual who's looking for customers

There can be more steps in between and more people chiming in to make it look like a more "normal" conversation, but that's the barebone process.

The goal is to make it seem like an honest and genuine conversation among random people looking for something that everyone wants: more money.
The end result is "word-of-mouth marketing" from normal people, which is far more credible than any advertising.

It starts like this:

Scam set-upper: Inflation hits people a lot harder than a crashing stock or housing market as it directly affects people's cost of living that people immediately feel the impact of. It's not surprising negative market sentiment is so high now. We really need help to survive in this Economy. The fin-Market;s have underperformed the U.S. economy as fear of inflation hammers the prices of stock;s and bonds. My portfoliio of $250k is down to $192k any recommendation;s to scale up my return;s during this crash will be highly appreciated.

BOTs apparently also upvote that first comment so more and more people see it.

And then you get the replies:

Scammer 1: its been two years now and I’ve gained over $850k following guidance from my inveestment adviser.
Scammer 2: Please can you leave the info of your invstment adviser here? I overheard someone talking about how a couple made $200k during this red season.
Scammer 1: S****** P***** is the brokerage-adviser. She has been of great help and her tutelage has brought me to a higher understanding of proffit generation. You can look up her name on the net for her page and reach out. Understands the job perfectly.

You get the "big numbers" to reel people in, the fake social proof, and the "fake honest, unbiased advice".

Edit:
Thanks to Bel for his advise on this