Crypto scammers are capitalizing on anti-Muslim bigotry

Photo Illustration by Jason Lancaster/Getty Images

In September, as election season entered its stretch run, researchers from the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, a DC-based think tank, began noticing a bizarre and disturbing variant of AI slop on X.

One post depicted a Muslim family at an airport, overlaid with a floating sign that read, “We are leaving America due to lack of respect for our culture.” Another, showing a smiling Arab man and a dog side by side, asked: “Would you give your dog away to make a Muslim happy?” Yet another featured a woman wearing a niqab, surrounded by a throng of other women in niqabs, holding a sign reading, “Stop saying Merry Christmas or we will leave.”

Some of those posts, and others like them, generated thousands of comments and were seen tens of thousands of times.

Many of the accounts making the posts had names that made it look as if they were affiliated with figures like President Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. or Vice President JD Vance, though the researchers did not find any connections. The accounts also claimed to be based in the US, though X’s “About this account” feature indicated that they were based abroad.

People who followed such accounts, drawn in by the Islamophobic viral posts, began seeing another kind of warning: posts raising the alarm about an impending crisis in the global financial system — a crisis they could escape by moving their money according to instructions they would receive by direct message.

Put simply, the researchers found that the accounts showed telltale signs of bait-and-switch scam operations. But in a bleak indicator of the current political climate, the bait was inflammatory content about Muslims.

“It’s very clear that they understand that there is a demand for this kind of content in the country right now,” Raqib Naik, the center’s founder and executive director, said. “And they’re fulfilling that supply.”

X did not respond to a request for comment, though many of the accounts were suspended after CNN asked about them. The company’s policies prohibit “inciting fear or spreading fearful stereotypes” about members of a protected category.

The prevalence of anti-Muslim bigotry on X isn’t surprising on its own — as the Center for the Study of Organized Hate previously documented, anti-Muslim content has proliferated on the platform under Elon Musk’s leadership, while the company has inconsistently enforced its own policies around it, findings from the Center show. Earlier this year, the center reported that dozens of Republican elected officials had been instrumental in promoting, through posts on their verified social media accounts, the idea that Muslims posed an existential threat to the US. And in the lead-up to the midterm elections, anti-Muslim messaging has become routine for some Republicans on the campaign trail.

What struck Naik and lead researcher Meriem Mahdhi was how scammers abroad were exploiting the rise in anti-Muslim sentiment: They had recognized that Islamophobic content was a reliable way to drum up views and engagement, and they were now producing it at scale for financial gain.

Courtesy Center for the Study of Organized Hate

“The anger is the hook and the outrage gets shares and comments,” Mahdhi wrote. “These shares grow the account’s reach, and the followers who engage are then steered toward the fake investment schemes, the celebrity impersonators and Telegram channels.”

The Center for the Study of Organized Hate identified more than 220 such accounts that appeared to be engaging in financial or sex-bait scams, Mahdhi said. About 90% were based in Africa, while the remaining accounts traced to South Asia, Italy and Japan, she noted.

In addition to the accounts claiming affiliation with figures in Trump’s orbit, several presented themselves as governmental or news sources. Others used more generic personas with “patriot,” “MAGA” or “QAnon” markers in their names.

One such account, which has since been suspended after CNN inquired, was an unverified profile with about 2,400 followers called “Trump Account” — also the name of the Trump administration’s federal savings program for children, though the two are not related. Labeled on X as a “commentary account,” it presented itself as a financial news source based in Washington, DC. But clicking into the account’s date of creation, January 2026, indicated the owner might have been using a proxy server and was connected via the Africa Android app.

After weeks of posting a steady stream of pro-Trump and anti-Muslim content, “Trump Account” pivoted more recently to urging users to buy cryptocurrency and sign up for the “Quantum Financial System,” a term often invoked in financial conspiracy theories. Those posts invited users to message the account directly on Telegram, a platform with high anonymity and lax content moderation that makes it a favorite of scammers.

When Naik messaged the account on Telegram, the user on the other end claimed to be “closely connected to people and work surrounding the Trump administration,” according to screenshots Naik shared. The account operator eventually asked if he was aware of a looming bank crash and stock market collapse that would render all currencies but two cryptocurrencies worthless.

After some back-and-forth, the user told Naik that he needed to set up a new banking account and sent a link to a website where he could supposedly register.

Telegram said that it would investigate and that it removes fraudulent accounts that are flagged by content moderators or users. “The fact that scammers must reach out to targets on other platforms speaks to the effectiveness of Telegram’s automated anti-spam tools (since scams often rely on spam) and the info panels provided when an unknown user reaches out,” the company said in a statement.

Naik also shared screenshots of similar interactions with Telegram accounts claiming to be affiliated with Donald Trump Jr., Tiffany Trump and Barron Trump.

“Have you been following the recent news about the impending bank closure EBS about to occur?” the Donald Trump Jr. imposter asked.

When Naik said that no, he hadn’t, the account responded with a run-on sentence riddled with spelling errors. “Banks and exchanges are going down both money in there will be lost and won’t be accessed anymore,” the message read. “Some greedy bankers are planning to confiscate people’s funds for there personality interest.”

It instructed Naik to empty his bank account and convert all his assets into the cryptocurrencies XLM and XRP, the new currency of the “Quantum Financial System.”

In the scams that the Center for the Study of Organized Hate identified, Mahdhi said that scammers appear to be targeting right-wing users who already subscribe to conspiracy beliefs such as QAnon. Instead of doing the usual time-consuming fraudster labor to identify vulnerable targets and gradually build trust with them, she said they’re letting X’s algorithm do the heavy lifting.

“By pushing this content they are reaching exactly the type of people who support these Q conspiracy theories,” Mahdhi wrote in a message, “and that are more likely to lose their money for a cause they believe in.”

The Islamophobic baiting scams identified by researchers operate in the overlapping spheres of right-wing politics, cryptocurrency and conspiratorial belief. The warnings about a purported bank collapse and ensuing financial reset are rooted in decades-old conspiracy theories, the specifics of which are often hazy, said Mike Rothschild, a journalist whose work focuses on conspiracy theories.

The gist of the theories, Rothschild said, is that a secret plot is underway to reset the global financial system. The would-be scammer positions themself as a sort of financial guru, seeking to convince victims that following their advice will insulate their victims from the global financial collapse that is sure to doom most everyone else.

“It’s all playing on people’s need to feel like they know what’s going on,” he said. “They’re clued in, and they’re going to get something that other people don’t know about.”

Recently, X has taken steps to crack down on clickbait and low-quality content, first making a series of changes to a program that paid creators a share of the revenue generated by high-engagement posts, and then ending the program this September.

In October, X announced that it suspended more than 13,000 accounts involved in suspected foreign influence operations, saying that networks of inauthentic accounts were posting and amplifying content about US politics on the platform.

Though it’s unclear whether any of the scam accounts identified by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate were a part of that particular sweep, some of those accounts have also been suspended since the announcement and since CNN reached out about the researchers’ findings. Still, plenty of accounts remain.

In claiming to be affiliated with Trump and people around him, scammers are exploiting the president’s extensive ties to the crypto world . Trump made more than a billion dollars from cryptocurrency ventures in his first year back in office; he has also elevated crypto-friendly leaders to top regulatory posts and proposed a “bitcoin strategic reserve.”

The scammers are also playing into Trump’s embrace of QAnon and its followers; official Trump administration social media accounts appeared to nod to the conspiracy on X as recently as June.

“It’s not out of the realm of possibility that a member of the Trump family would be associated with some sort of dodgy-sounding crypto investment,” Rothschild said. “That’s believable, and if it’s especially believable if you want to believe it.”

It’s unclear exactly who is behind these accounts and how many people have fallen for the scams. But there are at least some indications that using anti-Muslim content to lure people in is working.

On October 5, the researchers observed, an account by the name “JohnfKennedyJR,” with about 1,500 followers, posted an image of Muslims kneeling on a street in London and asked users how strongly they would support a ban on Muslim prayer in public spaces. One user responded with thumbs-up and heart gesture emojis. On October 16, the researchers saw that same user asking “Trump Account” how to set up a “QFS account” and whether there was a fee for obtaining a card. “Trump Account” instructed them to send a direct message about it via X or Telegram.

“It’s quite sad from many different points of view,” Mahdhi said. “From the point of view of the people who fall for it and who may have their savings depleted, but also from the point of view that it takes this much hatred to be able to make a living in some places in the world.”

图片由 Jason Lancaster/Getty Images 提供

9 月，随着选举季进入最后阶段，位于华盛顿特区的智库“有组织仇恨研究中心”的研究人员开始注意到 X 上出现了一种奇怪且令人不安的 AI 垃圾变体。

其中一则帖子描绘了一个穆斯林家庭在机场，画面上漂浮着一块牌子，上面写着：“由于我们的文化得不到尊重，我们要离开美国。”另一则帖子展示了一位面带微笑的阿拉伯男子和一条狗并肩而立，并问道：“你会为了让穆斯林开心而把你的狗送人吗？”还有一则帖子描绘了一位戴着面纱的女子，周围簇拥着一群同样戴着面纱的女子，她们举着一块牌子，上面写着：“别再说圣诞快乐了，否则我们就离开。”

这些帖子以及其他类似的帖子，获得了数千条评论和数万次浏览。

许多发布这些帖子的账户名称看起来像是与唐纳德·特朗普总统、小唐纳德·特朗普或副总统J·D·万斯等人物有关，但研究人员并未发现任何关联。这些账户还声称位于美国，但X网站的“关于此账户”功能显示它们实际上位于国外。

那些被仇视伊斯兰教的病毒式帖子吸引而关注此类账号的人，开始看到另一种警告：一些帖子发出警报，称全球金融体系即将发生危机——他们可以通过按照私信收到的指示转移资金来逃避这场危机。

简而言之，研究人员发现这些账户都带有典型的诱饵式诈骗手法。但令人沮丧的是，也反映了当前的政治气候，这些诱饵竟然是关于穆斯林的煽动性内容。

“很明显，他们明白目前国内对这类内容的需求很大，”该中心创始人兼执行主任拉基布·奈克说，“而他们正在满足这种需求。”

X公司未回应置评请求，但CNN就此事询问后，该公司旗下许多账户已被封禁。该公司政策禁止“煽动恐惧或散布针对受保护群体成员的恐惧刻板印象”。

X平台上反穆斯林偏见的盛行本身并不令人意外——正如有组织仇恨研究中心此前记录的那样，在埃隆·马斯克的领导下，反穆斯林内容在该平台上泛滥成灾，而该公司在执行自身相关政策方面却前后矛盾。该中心的研究结果显示，今年早些时候，该中心报告称，数十名共和党民选官员通过其认证的社交媒体账户发布帖子，积极宣传穆斯林对美国构成生存威胁的观点。在中期选举临近之际，一些共和党人在竞选活动中也开始频繁发表反穆斯林言论。

令奈克和首席研究员梅里姆·马赫迪感到震惊的是，国外的诈骗分子是如何利用反穆斯林情绪的上升的：他们意识到，仇视伊斯兰教的内容是吸引眼球和参与度的可靠方法，现在他们正在大规模地制作这类内容以牟取经济利益。

承蒙有组织仇恨研究中心惠允

“愤怒是诱饵，义愤填膺能带来转发和评论，”马赫迪写道。“这些转发扩大了账号的影响力，而参与互动的粉丝随后会被引导至虚假投资计划、名人冒充者和Telegram频道。”

有组织仇恨研究中心（Center for the Study of Organized Hate）的马赫迪表示，该中心已识别出220多个疑似从事金融诈骗或性诱饵诈骗的账户。她指出，其中约90%的账户位于非洲，其余账户则来自南亚、意大利和日本。

除了声称与特朗普身边人物有关联的账号外，还有一些账号伪装成政府机构或新闻媒体。另一些账号则使用更通用的身份标识，并在名称中包含“爱国者”、“MAGA”或“QAnon”等字眼。

其中一个账户在CNN调查后已被封禁。该账户名为“特朗普账户”（Trump Account），拥有约2400名粉丝，但未经认证。“特朗普账户”也是特朗普政府儿童联邦储蓄计划的名称，尽管两者并无关联。该账户在X网站上被标记为“评论账户”，并自称是一家位于华盛顿特区的财经新闻机构。但点击查看该账户的创建日期（2026年1月）后发现，账户所有者可能使用了代理服务器，并通过非洲安卓应用程序连接。

在持续数周发布支持特朗普和反穆斯林的内容后，“特朗普账号”最近开始敦促用户购买加密货币并注册“量子金融系统”（Quantum Financial System），这个词经常出现在金融阴谋论中。这些帖子邀请用户直接在Telegram上给该账号发消息。Telegram是一个匿名性高、内容审核宽松的平台，因此深受诈骗分子的青睐。

根据奈克分享的截图，当奈克通过Telegram联系该账号时，对方声称自己“与特朗普政府相关人士和工作关系密切”。该账号的运营者最终询问奈克是否知晓一场即将到来的银行倒闭和股市崩盘，届时除两种加密货币外，所有货币都将变得一文不值。

经过一番交流，该用户告诉奈克他需要开设一个新的银行账户，并发送了一个网站链接，据说他可以在那里注册。

Telegram表示将对此事展开调查，并会删除内容审核员或用户举报的欺诈账户。该公司在一份声明中表示：“诈骗分子必须通过其他平台联系目标用户，这体现了Telegram自动反垃圾邮件工具的有效性（因为诈骗通常依赖垃圾邮件），以及在陌生用户联系时提供的信息面板。”

奈克还分享了与自称与小唐纳德·特朗普、蒂芙尼·特朗普和巴伦·特朗普有关联的 Telegram 帐户进行类似互动的截图。

“你有没有关注最近关于EBS银行即将倒闭的新闻？”冒充小唐纳德·特朗普的人问道。

当奈克否认此事后，该账号回复了一条拼写错误百出的冗长句子。“银行和交易所正在倒闭，里面的钱都会丢失，而且再也无法取回，”信息写道。“一些贪婪的银行家正计划为了个人利益没收人们的资金。”

它指示奈克清空他的银行账户，并将他所有的资产转换为加密货币 XLM 和 XRP，即“量子金融系统”的新货币。

据组织仇恨研究中心（Center for the Study of Organized Hate）的马赫迪（Mahdhi）称，在已识别出的诈骗案例中，诈骗分子似乎专门针对那些已经认同诸如QAnon等阴谋论的右翼用户。她说，这些诈骗分子并没有像通常那样耗费大量时间去寻找易受骗的目标并逐步建立信任，而是让X的算法来完成这些繁重的工作。

“通过推广这些内容，他们精准地触及了那些支持Q阴谋论的人群，”马赫迪在一条信息中写道，“这些人更有可能为了他们所信仰的事业而损失金钱。”

研究人员发现，利用伊斯兰恐惧症进行诱饵式诈骗的手段，往往涉及右翼政治、加密货币和阴谋论等多个领域。专门研究阴谋论的记者迈克·罗斯柴尔德表示，关于所谓银行倒闭和随之而来的金融重置的警告，根植于几十年前的阴谋论，而这些阴谋论的具体细节往往模糊不清。

罗斯柴尔德说，这些理论的核心在于，有人正秘密策划重塑全球金融体系。这些骗子把自己包装成金融大师，试图说服受害者，听从他们的建议就能让他们免受全球金融崩溃的影响——而这场崩溃几乎会摧毁所有人。

他说：“这一切都是利用了人们想要了解内情的心理。他们觉得自己消息灵通，能够获得一些其他人不知道的信息。”

最近，X 采取了一系列措施来打击标题党和低质量内容，首先对一项向创作者支付高互动帖子所产生的收入分成的计划进行了一系列更改，然后于今年 9 月终止了该计划。

10 月，X 宣布暂停了 13,000 多个涉嫌参与外国影响力行动的账户，称这些虚假账户网络正在该平台上发布和传播有关美国政治的内容。

虽然尚不清楚“有组织仇恨研究中心”发现的诈骗账户中是否有任何账户参与了那次专项行动，但自该中心宣布行动结果以及CNN就研究人员的发现联系他们以来，其中一些账户已被封禁。不过，仍有大量账户处于存续状态。

诈骗分子冒充特朗普及其身边人士，利用总统与加密货币领域的广泛联系进行诈骗。特朗普重返总统岗位的第一年就从加密货币项目中​​获利超过10亿美元；他还提拔了多位对加密货币友好的领导人担任监管要职，并提议建立“比特币战略储备”。

诈骗分子也迎合了特朗普对 QAnon 及其追随者的支持；特朗普政府的官方社交媒体账号似乎在今年 6 月还在 X 网站上暗示了这一阴谋论。

罗斯柴尔德说：“特朗普家族成员参与某种听起来不太靠谱的加密货币投资并非完全不可能。这并非不可能，如果你愿意相信的话，那就更可能了。”

目前尚不清楚这些账号背后的操纵者是谁，也不清楚有多少人上当受骗。但至少有一些迹象表明，利用反穆斯林内容引诱他人上当的伎俩确实奏效了。

10月5日，研究人员观察到，一个名为“JohnfKennedyJR”的账号（拥有约1500名粉丝）发布了一张穆斯林在伦敦街头跪拜的照片，并询问用户对禁止穆斯林在公共场所祈祷的支持程度。一位用户回复了点赞和爱心表情符号。10月16日，研究人员发现同一用户向“特朗普账号”询问如何设置“QFS账户”以及办理该卡是否需要付费。“特朗普账号”指示他们通过X或Telegram发送私信咨询。

“从很多方面来看，这都很令人悲哀，”马赫迪说。“首先，那些上当受骗、积蓄可能被耗尽的人感到悲哀；其次，在世界某些地方，人们竟然需要如此深重的仇恨才能谋生，这也令人悲哀。”