Is Your Friend Selling Bitcoin on Facebook or Is Something Fishy Going On? Find Out!

Dear Lizzy

I noticed recently that an old friend from college seems to be hawking crypto on her Facebook page. Part of me wants to message her and ask, "Are you OK and for real?"

I don’t think her Facebook page has been hacked, unless there’s some way to create a very convincing photo of her holding a diploma from some … crypto institute? She’s posting client success stories in a way that makes me think she’s involved in a multilevel marketing scam.

Is this a thing? Should I reach out and ask if she’s OK? Or should I invest?

Dear Facebook Friend,

The fact that I can still learn about something completely new at age 42 is exciting, even if that thing is cryptocurrency MLMs.

I’ve done some light Googling and it seems like yes, your friend could have been hacked, or she might have received a certification from a website that certifies people as "Bitcoin professionals."

Is it a scam? Reports vary. Some Reddit users think so, and it does sound pretty scammy to me. There is, however, a real company with a legitimate website that provides these certificates and has a 64% rating from ScamAdvisor, which may or may not be a scam itself.

I’m not a financial expert, but I do know about social media and human relationships. If you’re close enough with this person to contact them outside of Facebook, a "Hi! How are you doing?" message might be warranted. You could even add, "Just wanted to check and see if your Facebook account was hacked!"

This is something you shouldn’t message on Facebook, however, because if it was hacked, you might end up conversing with the hacker, which is always weird and potentially dangerous.

If you aren’t close enough to have another way to communicate, let it go.

I’ve seen many people slip into selling various products on social media – shakes, leggings, essential oils. Maybe crypto is next. Either way, I wouldn’t buy into it. I wouldn’t buy anything over Facebook unless it’s Facebook Marketplace, and even then, deal in cash.

Social media is still a wild place, so be careful out there. Good luck!

Lizzy