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⚡The CR8TR Newsletter

How To Spot A Grifter.

Published 2 days ago • 2 min read

GD Nerds,

The internet is chock-full of influencers. Most are shills that sell crap to people further down the chain than them.

Or prostitute themselves to brands for money.

The worst kind, though, tend to deal in information or “specialist knowledge” that only they possess, and most of the time they’re completely full of shit.

Whether they’re standing next to Lambos or taking selfies inside “their” private jet (that never seems to be flying), this special class of influencer is known as a grifter and their type is as old as history itself.

They’re con men, blaggers, and they are legion despite efforts by agencies like the FCC to make life harder for them.

I mean, just look at these examples from the past few years:

  • Jay Shetty (2023–2024): Exposed by The Guardian and Daily Mail for fake quotes, false credentials, and overpriced “life coaching” schemes.
  • Dan Lok (2019–2022): “High-Ticket Closing” courses promised riches, delivered refund chaos. Covered by Business Insider and Coffeezilla.
  • Andrew Tate: “Hustler’s University” turned into a pay-to-play affiliate pyramid. Detailed by BBC News and VICE.
  • Colleen Ballinger (Miranda Sings): Accused of grooming fans, showing how influencer intimacy becomes predatory. Reported by BBC and Rolling Stone.
  • TikTok Gifting Scams (2022–2024): Creators emotionally manipulated followers into sending large virtual gifts. Documented by CNN and Business Insider.
  • Tana Mongeau: Built fame on chaos and over-sharing; “TanaCon” collapse (2018) remains a case study in fandom-fueled failure.
  • AI Influencers (2023–2025): Fake personas like Aitana Lopez and Lilian AI sold courses and products with fabricated testimonials. Covered by El País and The Verge.
  • Crypto/NFT Scams (2021–2024): Influencer-led rug-pulls like Logan Paul’s CryptoZoo conned fans out of millions. Reported by BBC and The Washington Post.
  • Kardashian Promotions (2022): FTC warnings over deceptive crypto and detox product ads.
  • “Glow-Up Coaching” Trend (Post-2020): “Femininity mentors” and “confidence coaches” charged thousands for vague empowerment advice.

They use a variety of techniques and psychological tricks to hook you in. If you want to make yourself bulletproof to their techniques, read this post we just published: How To Spot A Grifter.

And if you have any direct experience with these types of parasites, hit reply and tell me more. I'll add it to the story.

Peace.

Richard

My Current Tool Stack 🛠️

You don’t need a hundred tools to run a successful project, just the right ones.

Here's what I currently use in my day-to-day tech stack:

✅ ConvertKit (Kit): This is my go-to email marketing platform. I use it on all my major projects (including this one).

✅ Unbounce: For landing pages and converting social media traffic into email subscribers. It's cost effective and easy to use.

✅ Manychat: Automates lead-gen with DMs on Instagram, FB and TikTok. Not essential, but very powerful.

✅ Squarespace: Great for quick website builds when Wordpress isn't necessary. Comes with built-in e-commerce and newsletter functionality too.

That's all for the core stuff, you can find a complete list of all the tools I recommend here.

​

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⚡The CR8TR Newsletter

By Richard Goodwin

We help new creators build sustainable, authentic brands in a world drowning in AI slop.

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