Meme token Love Hate Inu CEO, Carl Dawkins is blowing the whistle on popular social media platform Instagram for refusing to grant him a verification blue check. Dawkins is concerned that Love Hate Inu crypto scams and other fraud are prevalent on the platform and vows to do everything he can to address the problem.
Instagram is a subsidiary of Meta and the parent company of Facebook. While both platforms have strict policies regarding advertisements from crypto companies, it appears that they are less attentive when it comes to safeguarding their users against crypto fraudsters.
Dawkins, who serves as an advisor to the UK Crypto and Digital Assets All Party Parliamentary Group, is not seeking the blue check for personal vanity. His primary objective is to protect people from scammers and, naturally, safeguard his own reputation.
Despite having a modest following of 1,212 users on his Instagram account (@carldawkinz), Dawkins boasts nearly 10,000 followers on Twitter (@CarlDawkinz), where he already possesses a verified badge.
He openly admits to having been targeted by scammers during his tenure as a crypto executive. Prior to becoming the CEO of Love Hate Inu, he held the position of head of growth at another crypto project, Tamadoge.
Unfortunately, dealing with scammers is par for the course in the crypto industry. However, it becomes even more challenging when major platforms like Instagram, boasting 2.35 billion monthly users, display indifference.
Dawkins has presented Instagram with documented evidence of 140 cases of fraud. He has provided substantial proof to support his concerns and request for verification.
Perhaps Instagram believes that Carl Dawkins falls below their threshold for public figures deserving of a blue tick due to his lack of fame? However, Dawkins has cultivated a public persona since 2006, made numerous TV appearances, and held prominent positions with renowned rock bands such as Metallica and Guns and Roses. He is not simply an anonymous “crypto guy.”
Despite all this, Instagram remains unmoved. Even when hacktivist group Anonymous recommended Love Hate Inu (a note to Instagram: Carl is the CEO) as a coin with potential to rival the success of Shiba Inu, a top cryptocurrency, the platform took no action.
Instagram remains unimpressed by the aforementioned factors, including the significant financial losses suffered by scam victims. Despite Carl Dawkins making three requests for a verification blue check, the platform continues to deny his account.
In frustration with Instagram’s failure to address the issue of criminals operating freely on its platform, Dawkins decided to take matters into his own hands. He intentionally became a target for scammers, aiming to confront one of the most egregious offenders and gather additional evidence to present to Instagram.
One such scammer Dawkins encountered goes by the name Valentin and uses the @adalbertoneto2 handle. Dawkins described the individual, saying,
“There’s this scammer who I’ve seen around for about six months. He’s got – or had – 492k followers and a blue tick, so he comes across as all good.”
Meta already rolled out a blue check verification subscription service in Australia, New Zealand and the US but it is yet to appear in Europe. The partial roll out means Meta has inadvertently given Love Hate Inu scammers a big window of opportunity to expand their nefarious activities. Dawkins continued:
“I thought let’s get this guy to show his hand – I used to be a semi-professional poker player in my younger days. He offered to do some influencer work for Love Hate Inu.
I negotiated him down from $1,000 to $150. I’d said let’s do some business together and once you deliver we can do some more.
I said to him ‘look, I’m fully doxed so I’ve got everything to lose. You aren’t. If I wasn’t to pay you, you could ruin me because I’m out there. I can’t do the same to you because you aren’t doxed.’”
Dawkins is pissed:
“What we have here is a situation where Instagram won’t verify me and as a direct result people are getting scammed, and yet they can verify a scammer who ends up scamming me.”
Dawkins acknowledges the abundant criticism directed at the crypto industry for its lackluster security measures and substandard business practices. He believes that such criticism is well-founded.
As the CEO of a meme coin project that recently secured $10.2 million in contributions from token buyers, Dawkins understands the importance of ensuring the safety of people’s funds, which rightfully concerns them.
Dawkins asserts that platforms like Instagram, with their substantial resources, have the capability to swiftly combat fraud and fraudsters. However, their failure to respond promptly when alerted to instances of fraud effectively facilitates the scammers, according to Dawkins.
Expressing his disapproval, Dawkins strongly criticizes Instagram for its role in enabling scammers:
“Now, when retail investors are being tempted back into the market in the latest meme coin frenzy, as witnessed by the success of Love Hate Inu’s $LHINU token sale, and the 1,000% plus price pumps for the likes of Pepe, Wojak and $SPONGE, it is beyond negligent for Instagram to refuse to act on complaints made to them.”
Via this site
