Made In Macedonia: Americans Lose Millions Buying Fake Donald Trump Debit Cards

[rpannier]

BELGRADE -- Last September, 86-year-old Ann Bratton thought she'd stumbled onto the investment of a lifetime.

An ad on one of the encrypted Telegram app channels the Nashville-area retiree had joined was offering debit-like "Trump cards" featuring the billionaire U.S. ex-president's image, each supposedly preloaded with $200,000. After years of forking out tens of thousands of dollars on souvenir banknotes, coins, and other Trump memorabilia, she calculated that she could quickly and easily turn a $6,000 investment into a $4 million nest egg.

What she didn't know was that behind the offer of "Trump Collection" cards was an opaque group of web-based vendors from a faded industrial city 8,500 kilometers away. And that city, in the Balkan country of North Macedonia, was already notorious for being home to legions of scammers who had fraudulently monetized Donald Trump's popularity in the United States and around the world.

snip

But it's an open secret in this corner of the Balkans that a startlingly successful digital disinformation and fake news industry that emerged in the Macedonian city of Veles alongside the political rise of Donald Trump helped lay the groundwork for a thriving new business in fraudulent goods marketed through encrypted channels to Trump-style conservatives and "patriots" an ocean away.

https://www.rferl.org/a/macedonia-trump-debit-cards-scam/32836128.html

**** as a note: If you read the article, you will see just how big a fool Bratton is (when she describes Trump in paragraph 7)

[Croney]

1. An 86-year-old trying to build a "nest-egg" with this junk is just sad.

[Skittles]

3. she thinks Trump is honest

you cannot get much more stupid than that

[kwijybo]

36. She's a Republican from TN

'Nuff said

[dalton99a]

38. +1. A real cultist

"I believe in President Trump, and I think he is honest. I believed that I was investing in the future," Bratton said of her seven-year splurge on quasi-banknotes, tokens, coins, and more recently the bogus debit cards. "I can't even remember where it was all advertised."

[julmur]

46. Milwaukee Irish

No sympathy, 86 years old and supporting trump, just nope

[Skittles]

2. the world knows how easily-manipulated Trump's fans are

pretty damn sad

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Surprised that TFG isn't going after Macedonia to get "his" money back.

[BlueKota]

5. They're probably wiring his cut to an overseas bank

[Gore1FL]

16. I doubt he could find Macedonia on a map. nt

[niyad]

19. I doubt he could spell Macedonia. . or map.

[Shermann]

24. Melania could, she can speak five languages!

Never seen on video, but a lot of people are saying so!

[niyad]

28. Ah, yes, thank you for the reminder.

[Midnight Writer]

56. Yeah, but the only phrase she knows in five languages is "Leave the money on the dresser".

[Shermann]

57. Oh snap! nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

31. I dont he could pronounce it.

[niyad]

41. That, too.

[GB_RN]

43. I Was Gonna Say The Same Thing...

He’d probably look at it and then say it like it was a Scottish last name: Mack-a-DOE-nee-ya.😂

[Floyd R. Turbo]

33. He thinks Macedonia is a big hairy elephant!

[Norbert]

67. Or may think it is his wife's name.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

68. 😁

[GreenWave]

50. Or pronounce it correctly as they do.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

64. BOOM!

[Meadowoak]

27. I doubt he could find his asshole with both hands.

[niyad]

30. His hands are not large enough to reach, anyway.

[tazkcmo]

65. Mackedoneeya and Cheese. nt

[sop]

45. Trump always gets his cut from these scams up-front.

[mwb970]

6. This would only work on conservative voters.

They will believe anything! No critical thinking ability at all. This "startlingly successful digital disinformation and fake news industry" is actually an obvious source of endless scams.

This makes it clear why trump ran for office as a republican after being a Democrat all his life. He knew that his lies and bluster would never work on liberals. We're just too smart for that!

[SarcasticSatyr]

7. and in the final sentence, she still thinks it might be legit . . . .

They just never learn ....

[rpannier]

9. I love how the article lists the fake images they use to help sell these things

Donald Jr and Ivanka are used, but not Eric
My guess is, nobody knows who he is

[bluesbassman]

58. More like even idiots think he's an idiot.

And they’re right.

[sop]

47. "It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled."

(Quote often attributed to Mark Twain.)

[AllyCat]

8. I read the scheme and thought "that is so obviously

Last edited Sat Mar 2, 2024, 09:56 AM - Edit history (1)

A Scam”. No one would be dumb enough to fall for that.

Except the cult. They will.

[rpannier]

12. Nigerian Prince Scam

Now the Donald Trump scam

He'll send you 20000 Trump bucks and you wire him 10000 U.S. dollars

[niyad]

26. Actually, a friend many years ago, NOT a reichwinger, fell for several

scams, perpetrated by supposed "friends", before I found out and ended it. The last attempted one was trying to get her to invest $25,000, for a guaranteed return of 2 million. These "friends" had already taken her for over 10,000. Their little con artist careers came to a very abrupt end, even after they threatened me.

[AllyCat]

29. OMG these were people she knew?

Terrible. Can see it more probable when it’s someone a person knows.

But stranger on the internet?

[niyad]

32. Yes, one a supposedly trusted friend. It is awful when a supposed friend

does something like that. Needless to say, I was not amused.

[AllyCat]

34. Glad you stepped in to save her.

How awful to think the others were friends but were among the worst kind of people.

[niyad]

44. Sadly enough, for quite some time, she was angry with me for exposing

them, thereby making her look gullible and foolish. Her ego couldn't take the hit.

[Bristlecone]

48. The root of it all right there.

For your friend and millions like her. Their ego won’t allow them to back down. So they dig in and become more entrenched; and dare I say angry/aggressive with anyone who may challenge their decision(s). Even if in an effort to help them.

[Old Crank]

10. Synonym for a Trump supporter

Mark, easy mark.

Evidently there is well more than one born every minute.

[samsingh]

11. they are bilking traitors who would give their money to trump anyway

[70sEraVet]

42. You are right on that!

If they didnt spend their dollars on fake Trump junk, they'd have spent it on REAL Trump junk!
In this case, every dollar stolen from them is GOOD for America!

[Blue Owl]

13. And this charlatan gets Supreme Court protection

Fuck them all and the corruption they rode in on

[Emile]

14. Republicans are suckers.

[ms liberty]

15. Gullible idiots. n/t

[Gore1FL]

17. Reminds me of this story from almost a year ago:

Colorado-based companies Patriots Dynasty, Patriots Future and USA Patriots have been advertising products with Trump's likeness, including black $10,000 “Trump Bucks”—sold for $99.99—they said could be redeemed as legal tender at most banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, though none responded to inquiries from NBC News.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/05/27/trump-supporters-scammed-by-novelty-items-trump-bucks-advertised-as-legal-tender/

[niyad]

22. Wow, I completely missed this story. Geez, the level of credulity required

to believe something that obviously nuts.

[Buns_of_Fire]

18. TrumpTurd Paperweights (tm) don't seem like such a crazy idea anymore.

(I've got to see if I can find Ann Bratton's address for my mailing list. I'll check with our local Nigerian prince.)

[Wonder Why]

20. We are all born ignorant. Maggots will all die stupid. MAGAtsmaggots.

[617Blue]

21. Ha ha ha...not sorry. This is what he'll do to the country.

[3Hotdogs]

23. Everything Trump touches, turns to shit. But in this case,

he didn't have to put any of his own effort into turning it into shit.

[hatrack]

25. First, read the article - long, detailed and fascinating.

Second, WOMP FUCKING WOMP.

After Bratton received 20 "Trump Collection" cards in October 2023, eager for her payout, she tried to use them to withdraw some of the promised cash from a local ATM. "The point I saw [advertised by the vendor] was that I can go to any ATM and withdraw cash, so I did that," she said. The ATM "just shot [the card] right back out, you know." She tried several other ATMs, including one operated by Bank Of America.

Bank Of America, the United States' second-largest bank, was among the institutions most frequently mentioned in the false ads as locations where purchasers could use their "Trump" cards to withdraw money.

"Bank of America has nothing to do with those products. These are souvenirs," William Halldin, a senior bank media representative, told RFE/RL. He said there were no figures to suggest how many people had tried to cash in on such products. Asked whether there was any way the cards could be turned into cash from his institution, Halldin was brief: "No."

https://www.msnbc.com/inside-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-rnc-donors-begging-to-be-stolen-from-james-carville-says-press-on-the-gop-chaos-204987461657

"These people want to be stolen from, and Trump is going to accomodate them."

[Ocelot II]

35. P.T. Barnum knew whereof he spoke.

[Gruenemann]

37. People who fall for Trump

Will fall for anything.

[crud]

54. That is their business model...

The easiest marks in the world. I think the conspiracy spreaders are really just looking for the most gullible people so they can take their money.

[oswaldactedalone]

39. What a maroon

Think about how stupid the average person is, then realize that 50% of people are stupider than that… and we live amongst them. How can it be?

[Oopsie Daisy]

40. Gullible Trumpers with zero judgement. Fools make easy marks, eh?

I'm having a hard time finding pity for these folks.

[Farmer-Rick]

49. Most anyone can be scammed

But come on these Trump supporters are just asking for it.

First they buy into crazy right wing conspiracy theories (which is why they click on these ads.), then they waste their money on Trump memorabilia (proving they like to buy junk if it's related to Trump), then someone cons them into Trump conspiracy financial investments.

Some of them bought US dollars with Trump's face on the fake money. They believe that when Trump is the US dictator in chief again, this money will be the new US currency. All the crap you have to believe to just hope this scenario will play out is mind boggling.

[paleotn]

51. I should feel sad for these people. No on is immune from all scams.

But I'm finding it very, very difficult.

[keithbvadu2]

52. Scammers/con men love the elderly, especially church goers. They are more trusting.

Why else would Trump and the evangelists team up.

[Lunabell]

53. Damn, if I could scam people I'd jump on the magat train.

Those idiots are gullible and stupid. A fool and his mobey are soon parted.

I'm too ethical to defraud even trump thumpers. It's also one of the reasons I don't have a mega church cult.

[Turbineguy]

55. It's the perfect scam

Your marks want to be fleeced.

[Backseat Driver]

59. I'm not surprised. Birds of a feather flock together--Well, if one thinks two titans of pathology might

constitute a flock. There's at least another mighty psychopath/NPD individual living and grifting in North Macedonia. Like the one we all know and despise, the other claims he came to know self-awareness,, instead in an Israeli jail after getting caught in a business fraud, but as another "stable genius," decided to make the best of it post-incarceration. Can it be there's some sort of competition quantumly playing out? Ever hear of Sam Vaknin?

https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/north-macedonia/#people-and-society

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Vaknin

There's still another kooky Israeli mathematician living here, but nobody in everyday life likely has ever heard of this one: Ilan Sadeh is roughly in the same age range as the first two. Perhaps he's content to just work out his problems in a world apart?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilan_Sadeh

[DBoon]

60. They believe in falsehoods if it makes them feel good

They were raised to believe whatever an authority figure says. Questioning authority goes completely against their nature.

They were taught to obey and not to reason.

[republianmushroom]

61. One born every minute.

Dumb and dumber.

[keep_left]

62. There was a similar scam a few years ago involving Trump and the Iraqi dinar.

The scam itself apparently goes back to the GW Bush era, but it was updated for the Trump regime due in part to some astonishingly ignorant remarks Trump made about international currency devaluations (in particular, the Chinese yuan)--once again proving that Trump can never be trusted to utter a single word of sense when it comes to business and commerce. Trump's dumbass followers somehow distorted his comments into a fantasy scenario whereby Trump would "revalue the dinar", making any small holder of the currency into a millionaire overnight.

The Chapo Trap House podcast satirized the fools who fell for the scam, and they did not hold back their customary venom in doing so.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217949403#post20 (see also post #2)

[MorbidButterflyTat]

63. I totally believe this (sarcasm):

"Neither the Republican presidential hopeful Trump nor any of his organizations appear to have any connection to the manufacturers, platforms, or sellers."

No fucking way the king of grift isn't getting his cut. NO WAY.

MAGAts are stupid gullible marks, recognized by criminals around the world. No sympathy here.

[Silent3]

66. There are clever scams that many people might get sucked into. This ain't one of them.

"I believe in President Trump, and I think he is honest."

If anything screams "I'm a sucker!", this would be it.