In recent years, increasingly sophisticated digital scams have exploded. Some disguise themselves as innovative business models, but in reality they exploit disinformation to sell illusions. In this article, you'll learn:
Dropshipping, when used properly, is a legitimate business model. However, many scams revolve around online courses that promise easy and immediate earnings by showing totally false 'proof' of success.
Example 1 — Dashboards modified with Photoshop
An influencer on Instagram proudly posts a screenshot of his Shopify dashboard showing $100,000 in sales in 30 days. At first glance, it seems like an exceptional success story. However, upon further analysis, it turns out that the screenshot was edited with Photoshop. The original image showed $150 in real sales, but the 'guru' simply changed the numbers, deleted the authentic details and replaced them with exaggerated amounts to impress and sell his courses.
Example 2 — Inspect element: temporary changes
An even simpler scam exploits a feature built into every browser: 'Inspect item'. A right click on the page is enough to access the HTML code of the dashboard, change the numbers on the fly and make everything look more profitable. These changes do not alter the real data, but serve to visually deceive. After the change, the cheater takes a screenshot and uses it as proof of his 'results'. Of course, no one has access to the real-time dashboard, and no data can be verified.
Example 3 — Real, but self-generated orders
The most sophisticated, and often the most credible, technique involves creating real orders using a personal credit card. The entrepreneur buys products from his site, passing them off as sales from real customers. Shopify records every transaction as a legitimate sale, with complete details: product purchased, origin, average order value, conversion rate. In a single day, it can generate $30,000 in fictitious sales, incurring only the payment processor commission (Stripe, PayPal, etc.), equal to 2-3% of the amount. In exchange, he gets a perfectly real and highly convincing dashboard, then used to promote fraudulent courses, consultancies and mentorship.
How to defend yourself:
Many influencers promote trading with phrases like: “look how much I earned today.” They show MetaTrader profiles with high earnings and 'LIVE' accounts. But not all that glitters is gold.
In fact, there are professional tools, called MetaTrader Manager or MetaTrader Administrator, reserved for brokers or high-level affiliate partners. These platforms give total access to account management: not only can you open and close transactions, but you have the power to modify their details, move positions between accounts, create fake trades or even completely eliminate losses from history. In practice, it is possible to build a perfectly 'LIVE' account, visible as authentic, but totally rigged in the results.
A concrete example helps to understand better. Imagine a user who promotes a” on TelegramFree signal room”, accessible only if you open an account with a specific broker and deposit at least 500 dollars. Once the deposit is made, he shows you his personal account with more than 10,000 dollars in profit within a few days. The account appears real, the operations are well executed, and everything seems legitimate. But behind that dashboard there is a control panel, provided by the broker himself to the affiliate, with which each order has been modified manually to look like a winner. The entire gain is a simulation created specifically to convince you to invest more, while those who promote it collect commissions on your deposits (up to 50% of the total in some cases).
Further complicating the picture is another little-known element: even apparently independent external platforms, such as MyFxBook, can be manipulated. MyFxBook is a widely used tool for showing trading performance in a public way, often linked to by those who promote courses or services. But the reality is that there are modified versions or clones of MyFxBook sold on the dark web or through underground communities, which allow you to manually upload any trading history, completely falsifying it. Even official API data can be manipulated when connecting, if you have server-side access.
In some cases, it is even possible to purchase entire “verified” accounts with pre-loaded fictitious data, ready to be shown to the public as proof of success. The unaware public trusts statistics and makes economic decisions, such as buying a 997 euro course or relying on a manager, based on data that never existed.
All this makes it clear how easily falsifiable the concept of 'real account' is today. This is why you should always be wary of the evidence shown by those who have a direct interest in selling something. No result, no performance, however certified it may seem, is a guarantee of authenticity unless accompanied by independent verification.
The most important advice is therefore to never let yourself be convinced by screenshots, graphics, public links or uncertified statements. Before trusting a trading service, it is essential to check the broker reputation, verify that it is regulated by a serious authority, and understand if those who promote it have direct economic ties with the platform.
With Welo, today it is possible to do just that: check if a company is trustworthy, if the legal terms are clear, if the site shows signs of manipulation or lack of transparency, and if the payment methods are protected. A request is enough to obtain a free verification and receive in less than 24 hours a complete analysis of the project or the person who is offering you something online.
When in doubt, trust only the facts. And the facts can be checked, with the right tools like Welo.
Trust is the most valuable currency on the web. And precisely for this reason, it is often exploited by digital fraudsters as a tool to deceive. In an era in which people make decisions based on screenshots and testimonies seen on social networks, it is essential to know how to distinguish what is authentic from what is artfully constructed.
Many of the most common online scams revolve around fake reviews, modified conversations, and completely fabricated video witnesses. Let's see how this dynamic works and why it's so hard to recognize it at first glance.
Fake screenshots: artfully crafted conversations
If you happen to scroll through the Instagram or Telegram page of an alleged “mentor” and find dozens - if not hundreds - of screenshots of WhatsApp chats or Instagram DMs with phrases like:
“Thanks, I made $400 today!”
“I don't believe it, it really works!”
... it's time to stop. These conversations may seem genuine, but they are often completely false. Here's how they're created:
Video testimonials: paid or piloted reviews
Video testimonials are even more powerful than screenshots, because they take advantage of the visual and emotional component. But even in this case, it is often a staging. Here are the most common methods:
“I joined 3 days ago and have already earned $1,200 thanks to their AI!”
... are not the result of real results, but of an aggressive marketing strategy. These videos come later Republished everywhere: TikTok, YouTube, landing pages, promotional emails, without any control over the veracity of the testimony.
How to defend yourself against manipulated reviews and testimonials
Many users are attracted to groups that promise”free signals” on emerging cryptocurrencies, with messages such as “Buy now! Target +200%!”. Behind these messages, however, there are often real scams orchestrated down to the smallest detail.
Pump & Dump: price manipulation
This technique is one of the most common, especially among tokens a low capitalization (low cap), where a few thousand dollars are enough to significantly alter the price.
How does it work?
Concrete example:
A Telegram group with more than 20,000 members posts the message:
“🚀 Buy $xyzCoin on PancakeSwap now! Target +200%! 🔥”
Enthusiastic, hundreds of users buy in bulk. The price is soaring. In the meantime, who organized the pump — and bought it hours before — Sell everything in the moment of maximum euphoria. The value of the token drops by 90% in a few minutes. Ordinary users, who joined last, are left with a practically useless asset.
Rug Pull: the ultimate scam
The Rug pull (literally: 'pulling the carpet') is an even more dangerous operation. In this case it is not a question of manipulating the price, but of create a Truffaldino project from scratch, with the aim of stealing funds and disappearing.
How does it work?
Anyone who works in the crypto world should pay attention to these signs:
How to protect yourself: tools and common sense
🔍 Don't be fooled by the hype. The real opportunities in the crypto world are built on solid and transparent foundations. Here are some useful tools for analyzing a project before investing:
✅ Check for blocked cash (liquidity lock) through tools such as Team Finance or Unicrypt
✅ Check the distribution of tokens: if a single wallet holds 90%, it's a red flag
✅ Never trust someone who promises '100x in 24 hours': in 99% of cases it is bait
A recent trend is scams based on artificial intelligence. Sites or bots promise you to earn while you sleep using an AI algorithm that analyzes the markets and invests for you.
How does the AI investor scam work
Classic example: AI Bot Capital
A platform called AI Bot Capital promised a fixed return of 2.4% per day thanks to a proprietary AI algorithm that 'anticipates the market'. After two weeks, a user decides to withdraw their earnings. He is asked to pay a 15% 'liquidation commission' to process the withdrawal. The user pays. But the funds never arrive.
A few days later, the site is offline. No contacts, no refunds, and no real investment has ever been made.
How to defend yourself against these scams
🧠 Artificial intelligence does not guarantee constant profits. No system, however advanced, is able to generate fixed daily returns. Financial markets are unpredictable, and even professional hedge funds accept risk margins.
🔍 Avoid unregulated platforms. Real investment companies are registered with official bodies (e.g., SEC, FCA, CONSOB). If the site doesn't show any real licenses and doesn't appear in the logs, it's likely to be a scam.
🛡️ Check licenses and feedback from independent sources. Check reviews on sites like Trustpilot, Reddit, or the Welo Verifier to find out if the company has already been reported. Even a well-built site can hide a fraudulent system.
Online businesses offer great opportunities, but it's also full of well-constructed traps. Every day, new pages, bots, AI, courses or signals are launched, all with the same goal: to monetize your trust.
If someone promises you:
... it's time to stop and ask yourself: “Why should he share it with me?” The answer is simple: because the real gain is selling your illusion.
Welo was created to make the web more secure. We analyze every detail of a company before certifying it. If it's not transparent, it doesn't get our badges. No payment conditions us. Only real data, transparent checks and authentic reviews.
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