Reported by: Serah Louis

From Kim K to the Paul brothers, influencers are shelling out investing advice and touting risky tokens over social media and it’s often their young followers who are left paying the price if the market plunges.

Bitcoin’s track record serves as an example of just how volatile that market can be.

There’s been a big shift toward younger people entering the financial markets over the past decade, notes Taylor Lorenz, a technology and internet culture reporter for The Washington Post.

And over a quarter of Gen Zers receive their financial advice from social media, according to the National Association of Personal Finance Advisors.

“Young teenagers are purchasing things like NFTs and other speculative investments, and often participating in online communities that pump the prices of these things,” says Lorenz.

“So it’s kind of ‘Lord of the Flies’ out there right now in our financial system.”

Giving out financial advice or promoting products is just another way for content creators to monetize their audiences, says Lorenz. While many promotions are above board, less scrupulous influencers can intentionally or unintentionally cross the line.

“They partner with financial crypto firms, or they release their own tokens in ‘pump and dump’ schemes,” she explains. “But all of these things are definitely a problem on the internet.”

The FTC found that 1-in-4 people who reported losing money to fraud last year said it started on social media, amounting to about $770 million in losses. People aged 18 to 39 were also more than twice as likely as older adults to report losing money to these scams.

Read full report: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kind-lord-flies-more-celebs-110000504.html