A recent investigation into Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, has uncovered a disturbing pattern of scams targeting elderly users. According to documents obtained by Gizmodo through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, numerous elderly supporters of the former president have fallen victim to fraudulent schemes, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The consumer complaints, filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), paint a heartbreaking picture of how unsuspecting users have been preyed upon. Truth Social, launched in February 2022 as an open and free platform for discussion, boasts around two million users. Yet, in this community, many have found themselves entangled in scams that often begin with innocent online conversations but spiral into financial disasters. told by MSN.
One of the most staggering reports is of a person in their 60s who claimed to have lost as much as $500,000 to scammers. The individual seemed hopeful that they could recover their funds, stating, “After I pay this they promise there will be no more fees and I will receive my assets,” as published by Gizmodo. This story is just one of many in which victims believed that paying just one more fee would resolve everything, only to fall deeper into the trap.
In another harrowing account, a user lost $170,000 after being scammed on a different platform. They turned to someone they met on Truth Social, hoping to recover their money, but instead, they were scammed again. The FOIA documents reveal that many of these scams followed a similar pattern: users were first contacted on Truth Social, but soon the conversation was moved to other platforms, such as WhatsApp, where the fraudsters could continue their deception in private.
A significant number of the reported cases involve romance scams, particularly affecting older users. One 72-year-old man shared how he had been chatting with a “beautiful” woman on the platform, only to be swindled out of $21,000. Sadly, the man confessed that he hadn’t told his wife about the incident, indicating the deep shame and regret many victims feel.
Another user in their 60s recounted being persuaded by a scammer to invest $6,000 in Forex trading, with the scammer matching the investment. After a small return of $1,500, the victim was convinced to withdraw $92,400 from their retirement account. What followed, as is typical in such scams, was the disappearance of the fraudster, leaving the victim financially devastated.
In one particularly heart-wrenching case, a user claimed to have lent $34,500 since July 2022 to a woman they met on Truth Social. The woman spun a tale involving medical costs, storage fees, and taxes on an inheritance, promising to repay the money with interest once her inheritance was liquidated. That promise, of course, was never fulfilled. report from The NY Times.
Another elderly user, in their 70s, reported losing $120,000 after being tricked into fronting a non-existent business. Their complaint read, “The more I write, the dumber I feel that I would even fall for something like this,” a sentiment echoed by many victims of these sophisticated schemes.
As the investigation into these scams continues, the stories of these victims serve as a stark reminder of how vulnerable online users—especially older individuals—can be to such deception. Truth Social, intended as a space for open dialogue, has unfortunately become a platform where scammers have preyed on those looking for connection and trust.
