Multiple companies have fooled former president Donal Trump's supporters into believing that "Trump Bucks" could be used as a form of US currency, according to NBC News
According to Forbes, Colorado-based companies such as Patriots Dynasty, Patriots Future and USA Patriots have been selling "Trump Bucks" and telling Americans that they can be redeemed as real currency. This has reportedly included black $10,000 bills which are selling for $99.99.
Forbes added that alongside coins, checks, and membership cards, buyers are given a “Trump Rebate Banking System” handbook that is advertised as the “official document” allowing the items to be cashed in.
NBC News reported from Bank of America spokesperson, Bill Halldin, that people are actually going to banks in hopes to exchange these "Trump Bucks" for real money.
AI-generated ads were also spread around social media, especially Tiktok, showing Trump advertising the "Trump Bucks" while NBC News reported that there is no evidence that these “scammers” are even connected to Trump.
NBC News did not receive a response to a request for a statement from Trump.
The International Business Times reported that a YouTube ad “claimed that TRB system membership cards would ‘allow Trump Bucks holders to use Trump Bucks as legal tender and deposit them in banks such as JP Morgan Chase, the Bank of America and Wells Fargo.' However, just a few seconds before this, the ad said that Trump Bucks ‘are not legal tender.’”
Many of the people who bought these "Trump Bucks" believed that they were real and coming directly from Trump himself.
Who are the people who fell for the scam?
NBC News shared the story of John Amann, who purchased $2,200 worth of "Trump Bucks" and tried trading them in for cash at his bank. To his surprise, however, the bank alerted him of the scam and the money he had just lost.
NBC News showed a Tweet from Amann urging people to be aware of the scam and to not purchase any of these "Trump Bucks".
"I bought them because I believed President Trump, because he knows all about finance, and he was going to help the real Trump Patriots get rich.”
Alabama grand mother
Many others, including a grandmother from Alabama, made similar purchases hoping to become wealthy, NBC reported.
“Now I realize, well, that was stupid,” the woman told NBC. “But I bought them because I believed President Trump, because he knows all about finance, and he was going to help the real Trump Patriots get rich.”