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and Fake Social Media Profiles
This past week, the online gaming industry was rocked by the dubious report that a major Web3 project was a $1.6 million exit scam. Known as the Decimated Project, the game company raised over $2 million from investors before seemingly disappearing into thin air.
The Decimated Project team reportedly raised this money on the Ethereum blockchain from investors that believed in their promise to deliver a post-apocalyptic free-to-play game. The project had some high profile backers including popular YouTube influencer Ethan Klein, entrepreneur and Senate candidate Anna Paulina, and famous investor Peter Thiel.
In the weeks leading up to the exit scam, the Decimated Project team had some red flags that initially went unnoticed. These included hiring actors to populate YouTube video game reviews and creating fake social media accounts to exaggerate their reach on such platforms.
The team also included Irvin Fauzi, a mysterious figure who was purportedly the CEO and head of operations for the Decimated Project. Unfortunately, Fauzi was never able to deliver any evidence to verify his identity or background. It was later revealed that Fauzi was actually an actor and the photo he used to represent himself was of a high-ranking Indonesian military official.
With most of the money gone in an instant, the investors were left to pick up the pieces, and some have spoken out publicly to describe how Decimated’s exit scam has affected them. It is believed that the money may have been transferred to foreign accounts and is unlikely to ever be recovered.
The investors who lost their life savings to the Decimated Project seem to have been naïve in believing such a drastic gaming project. While it is easy to be seduced by the potential of a great product, no one should ever invest in a project until they do thorough research into the team, the market, and the development history, or until they have the assurance of a reputable third parties.