It’s no secret stars are publicly targeted by trolls , hoaxes or scams, but trust us when we say there are some outrageous ones!
The latest victim targeted by a crazy death scam is none other than Sunrise’s David ‘Kochie’ Koch. An image of the breakfast host was used in an attempt to scam thousands of dollars out of people.
A post was shared to Twitter claiming he had died, and appeared to be an advertisement to scam users into signing up for a cryptocurrency service in return for a finder’s fee, according to Crikey.
The read: “Although saying goodbye is never easy, we take comfort in knowing that Kochie lived a full and meaningful life, leaving behind a legacy of kindness, warmth and compassion.”
When Kochie re-tweeted the image, writing: “Just for clarity, I’m alive and well and enjoying @AFL #gatherround in Adelaide with all my family. This stuff is really giving me the sh#ts.”
The person responsible for the tweet, revealed her account had been hacked with her email changed they began posting on her account and cost her more than $1,000 in advertisement.
Today Weekender reporter Richard Wilkins was also victim to a scam after an image has been circulating of Richard being arrested in a park in Sydney wearing dirty clothes. The photo feature the reporter being held back by two police officers while another officer presumably wrote a report.
The photo was visibly manipulated by either photoshop or AI technology as Richard’s face was plastered onto a criminal’s body.
Richard has even called his lawyers to stop the photo from circulating and the image was used without his permission in a financial scam.
“I don’t know what to do about it. This has been going on for some time,” he told 2GB’s Ben Fordham Live.
“It never happened. It’s complete BS. The thought of anyone investing in anything because I was recommending it is quite disturbing, and I’d hate to think that was happening.”
The entertainment reporter has sought help from Channel Nine’s legal team and has contacted Facebook’s company Meta, but the issue has reportedly “gotten worse.”
But to lighten the mood, Richard’s son Christian made a joke that: “There’s no way Richard Wilkins would be seen not wearing skinny jeans.”
Meanwhile Jackie O has also fallen victim to some harsh photo editing for an advertisement. The scam used edited before and after images of the Kyle and Jackie O Show host to advertise how to “lose another 3-5 kilos.”
“Another day another scam!!! If you see me “advertising” keto gummies, it ain’t true,” she wrote on Instagram.
“But I’m loving their photoshopped pics”.
Michelle Bridger even commented on the image, writing: “Omfg!!! I’m in BEAST MODE over this.”
Kate Langbroek joked: “Oh no I bought these gummies hoping for the same majik…”