The Telegram Message That Looked Too Good to Be True
It started innocently enough.
A friendly message popped up on Telegram from someone named Richard Shapiro, claiming to be a professional trader with an AI-powered bot that could “automatically generate daily profits.”
He sounded credible. His profile photo looked professional, his tone polite, and his pitch—well, it pressed all the right psychological buttons: low effort, high return, fast results.
He even shared screenshots of people supposedly making thousands overnight.
And the clincher? His bot was “Powered by Investicy.com,” a platform that looked slick, international, and sophisticated.
For a few minutes, my curiosity woke up.
As a creator who’s been building systems and exploring AI for years, the words “AI trading” and “automated income” hit all the dopamine switches.
But something in my gut whispered: slow down. I have been caught by a ‘too good to be true crypto scam’ early this year which was my initiation into how this all works.
The Pattern I Almost Missed
When I checked Investicy.com, it looked like many professional trading sites—charts moving in real time, testimonials, a promise of “insured” funds up to $100,000, and a founder story built around this “Richard Shapiro.”
I’d seen this movie before.
High production value, vague credentials, and a sense of urgency that says, You’re missing out if you don’t act now.
So I decided to dig deeper.
What I Found
Within minutes of searching, the glossy illusion started to crack.
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FINMA, Switzerland’s financial regulator, had listed Investicy.com on its official warning list for operating without authorisation.
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The supposed Swiss address didn’t exist in the Swiss commercial register.
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Their “license number” led nowhere.
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The real Richard Shapiro—the one with decades of legitimate investment experience—had no connection whatsoever to the Investicy brand.
It was a digital doppelgänger: a fake persona wrapped around a scam platform.
The platform’s playbook was textbook:
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Win your trust with the story of an expert trader.
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Dazzle you with AI buzzwords.
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Promise insured profits.
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Get you to deposit funds.
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Then, when you try to withdraw—introduce “taxes,” “verification fees,” or “security upgrades” or “withdrawal fees” before locking your account.
Classic advance-fee fraud in a shiny AI costume.
Let me be clear, I have not lost any money with Investicy because I used AI to carry out research on this business before investing. It has all the classic hallmarks of a scam – claiming a near perfect lossless trading record that is too good to be true.
The Emotional Hook They Exploit
Let’s be honest—what they sell isn’t just money.
They sell relief:
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Relief from uncertainty.
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Relief from financial pressure.
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Relief from having to figure it all out yourself.
The pitch is designed to make you think, Maybe I’ve finally found the shortcut.
But wealth isn’t a shortcut.
It’s a system of habits, decisions, and compounding actions that pay off over time.
And in that moment of reflection, I realised something powerful:
Scams work because they mirror our hidden impatience.
They offer to deliver the future we desire—without requiring us to become the person capable of earning it.
It comes in the form of done-for-you trading or automated bots where you are required to do and learn nothing, other than sending you hard-earned cash.
What I Did Next
Instead of transferring a penny, I closed the chat, deleted the contact, and checked eToro—a regulated, transparent platform I already use.
The contrast was night and day:
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eToro is regulated by bodies like the FCA (UK) and CySEC (EU).
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Funds are held in segregated accounts.
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Withdrawal and reporting are clear.
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There are no “magic bots” promising to beat the market—just tools, data, and real risk.
That’s the difference between an investment platform and a storytelling platform.
One builds wealth through reality.
The other sells fiction dressed as finance.
Why This Matters for Creators
As solopreneurs, especially those of us over 40, we’re constantly pitched “AI miracles.”
They come disguised as trading bots, affiliate engines, traffic automators, or instant income systems.
Here’s the truth: AI is real. Miracles aren’t.
AI is a tool—a powerful one—but it amplifies who you are, not who you wish to be.
If you’re disciplined, creative, and strategic, AI will multiply those qualities.
If you’re desperate or impulsive, it’ll multiply those too.
That’s why the real work of building wealth begins inside your own operating system—your mindset, discipline, and values.
Scammers prey on people’s unwillingness to update that software.
How to Spot the Trap
If you ever find yourself tempted by a new AI investment or trading “opportunity,” run through this quick checklist before you touch your wallet:
1. Check the Regulator
Search the platform name on the FCA, FINMA, or SEC warning lists.
If it’s there—or absent from official registers—walk away.
2. Ignore the “Guarantee”
No legitimate trading system can guarantee returns.
Even the world’s best funds lose money sometimes.
3. Beware of Telegram or WhatsApp Recruitment
Professional firms don’t cold-DM you to join private trading groups.
That’s what scammers do when they can’t pass compliance checks.
4. Research the People
Search the names they drop.
If the “expert” doesn’t exist outside that platform—or has suspicious LinkedIn activity—it’s likely fabricated.
5. Test the Withdrawal
If you can’t withdraw small amounts easily, you’ll never see the big ones.
The Creator’s Rule of Thumb
In both business and investing, I follow a simple rule now:
If it promises ease before education, it’s probably a trap.
Real growth—financial, creative, or spiritual—always starts with learning.
Shortcuts skip the learning. And when you skip learning, you skip transformation.
The scammers offered me an escape.
But what I really wanted was expansion.
Building Real Wealth, Creator-Style
Here’s what I now tell fellow creators and solopreneurs:
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Use AI to create, not to gamble.
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Build systems that generate value, not hype.
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Focus on automation that supports your craft, not your wishful thinking.
That’s why I continue developing the IMMachines ecosystem—real AI tools that help you grow an audience, package your expertise, and create digital assets that pay you ethically over time.
Not overnight wealth.
Just inevitable wealth—the kind built on service, skill, and self-awareness.
A Final Word to “Richard Shapiro”
If the man on Telegram ever reads this: thank you.
You reminded me that discernment is a superpower.
You also gave me a story that might save others from losing money, hope, or momentum chasing digital illusions.
So, in a strange way, you helped my mission—by showing me what I’m not here to do.
Closing Thought
In a world of deepfakes, fake experts, and fake certainty, authenticity is the new arbitrage.
Every time you choose patience over panic, learning over luck, and creation over consumption—you beat the algorithm.
And you build something no scammer can counterfeit:
a consciousness that knows the difference between real and unreal wealth.
