Gareth Southgate’s representatives are seeking legal advice after the England manager was caught up in a crypto scam.
A marketing email sent to an unknown number of recipients claims Southgate appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and revealed a “wealth loophole” that could make somebody a millionaire within four months.
The entirely fictionalised story also claims Southgate’s “secret investment” returned 5,000 per cent in five years. It boasts that if recipients buy the cryptocurrency bitcoin they could earn 40 per cent profit within two months.
While the email will appear outlandish to many readers, others who have used the service linked to it have lost hundreds of pounds.
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Southgate, 51, is said to have “pulled out his phone and showed viewers how much money he’s making” during the interview with DeGeneres, the comedian and presenter whose show has been a mainstay of American daytime television for the past two decades.
It also claims the Federal Reserve Bank tried to stop the interview being aired, despite it never actually taking place.
Following links on a website that opens from the email, users are directed to BitcoinBank but then sent to another crypto service that requires a £150 deposit.
Tricked users claim to have lost all their money and allege that their friends’ social media accounts and devices were hacked. Others allege that they received threats and harassment. It is thought that the Southgate email is one of a number of ways of luring people to crypto scams.
The England manager’s representatives are now seeking legal advice in the hope of stopping their client’s name and brand being used to promote it after the Football Association was made aware of the scam.
Analysis: Football’s growing relationship with crypto
Football is increasingly helping to legitimise cryptocurrencies and NFTs — non-fungible tokens that represent unique digital assets changing hands for hundreds of thousands of pounds — despite many of the companies being unregulated.
Premier League clubs have been turning to cryptocurrency companies as partners, accepting millions in sponsorship deals. Watford and Southampton have both signed deals with cryptocurrencies in recent years.
Last year, Manchester City suspended a new partnership with cryptocurrency start-up 3Key. A week after making the firm an “official regional partner in decentralised finance trading analysis” the deal was halted after it emerged that executives at the company had no digital footprint.
A Manchester City spokesperson said: “Manchester City conducts due diligence in respect of all of its partnerships. Manchester City’s partnership with 3Key Technologies has been announced but has not been activated in respect of any specific products or services in any part of the world.
“Prompted by the club’s interactions with 3Key Technologies in recent days, Manchester City is now conducting further enquiries regarding 3Key Technologies and the partnership has been suspended pending satisfactory resolution to all of those inquiries.”
The game’s star players have also started lending their name and brand to cryptocurrencies and NFT sellers in return for huge sums of money. Paul Pogba, the Manchester United and France midfielder, has been promoting Cryptodragons.
The Premier League is investigating the increasing link between its clubs and crypto companies. It is believed clubs are turning to the firms as a replacement for the huge money available from betting firms as the government edges closer to banning bookies from football sponsorship deals.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3AbSYPB
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