Giving Bitcoin a bad name
Tucci wasted no time responding, offering a video message on his official Facebook profile. He adamantly stated that he had never been involved with any activity that involved
Bitcoin or cryptocurrency as a whole, saying that the reports that suggested so were nothing more than a scam.
Last week, two English-language Maltese papers reported on an investment scheme called “Bitcoin Revolution.” According to reports, two local TV show hosts and an actor were reportedly involved in this situation. However, the three individuals have since come forward and denied their involvement.
The original false endorsement was listed on Major News, showing Wayne Sammut and Elaine Degiorgio, the hosts of One Breakfast. Along with the hosts, Major News falsely claimed that they had Davide Tucci as a guest on their show.
The report went even further, saying that the Maltese TV actor had used his on-air time to successfully convince Degiorgio to make a deposit of €250 to Bitcoin Revolution.
They suggested that Tucci had been able to get himself out of bankruptcy. Major News reported that the investment from Degiorgio had increased to €483.18 “within three minutes” on the “show.”
The fake report offers multiple details on the way to use Bitcoin Revolution, promoting how to sign up.
Tucci wasted no time responding, offering a video message on his official Facebook profile. He adamantly stated that he had never been involved with any activity that involved Bitcoin or cryptocurrency as a whole, saying that the reports that suggested so were nothing more than a scam.
To further his plea against the scam, Tucci has reported this situation to the Cyber Crime unit of the Malta Police Force.
The One Breakfasts hosts spoke with The Malta Independent, saying that Tucci has never been a guest. Furthermore, they denied claims that any investment has ever been made on their show at all, notifying the police as well.
Newsbook, another local news outlet, requested information from the Malta Financial Services Authority to state if Bitcoin Revolution was actually legal. In response, the authority noted that there has not been any authorization from the government for an operation under this name. Furthermore, the MFSA has decided to conduct an investigation on the matter as well.
The name Bitcoin Revolution is not a new one, and has reared its head on Maltese social media more than once over the past few weeks. In fact, earlier last week the government issued a statement saying that it had submitted a report with the police so that websites pedalling such stories could be investigated, whilst also saying that they were taking such claims very seriously as not only were they fraudulent, but they were also undermining the government’s work in the blockchain sector.
All this goes to show how the race to become Blockchain/Bitcoin Island has been undermined and can turn sour on the good name of our country (as if we needed this!). Many times, this craze to become the world’s first can lead to making fools of ourselves.
According to a report by David Hudson of MaltaToday, the ad regarding Mr Tucci claims that he made €2.3 million, leading users to a well-crafted that features stills from the One Breakfast show, quotes Maltese personalities, and was purportedly written by one Anton Sacco, a Maltese name.
The police Cyber Crime Unit said that in the first nine months of 2018, it was involved in 314 investigations related to fraud, an increase from 193 cases during the same period the previous year.