Scottish influencer Shazad Bakhsh's luxury scam unravels with $1M fraud allegations in Dubai

To the casual observer, Shazad Bakhsh is the personification of the good ￰0￱ social media platforms are splattered with images of the Scottish influencer’s larger-than-life persona, typified by his head-turning ￰1￱ high-end car is apparently a tactic to play up to many who dream of such a ￰2￱ to sources close to Cryptopolitan, Shazad’s show of opulence masks an insidious scam, preying on his victims’ blind ￰3￱ comments came after Shazad was detained by Dubai authorities over fraud allegations in excess of $1 ￰4￱ familiar with the matter claimed that the “master grifter” has gone to great lengths to perfect his con ￰5￱ have also linked him to haute societe events and organizations such as the Supercar Owners Circle and Luxury Events ￰6￱ functions allow him to hobnob with luxury car lovers and deep-pocketed ￰7￱ in those rooms, Shazad’s charisma helps him warm his way through unsuspecting victims’ ￰8￱ Scottish businessman was credited for his mastery of the art of blending in with the settings and weaving the perfect cover for his ￰9￱ acquired “legitimacy” has helped him ramp up prolific numbers in the rackets linked to ￰10￱ does Shazad Bhaksh scam his victims?

The Scottish Sun reported in August that Shazad faces other allegations in ￰11￱ close to the matter say he faces accusations of fraud from businessmen in Cyprus, Hungary, Switzerland and Singapore who claim that he duped them out of large sums of ￰12￱ keeping with his scheming nature, Shazad uses several approaches to snare his ￰13￱ off, he baits them with “exclusive” investment ￰14￱ ruse is that the target will gain unique advantages when investing in Shazad’s “limited edition” projects. Secondly, the accused international fraudster promises big returns on their ￰15￱ convinces his victims that they’ll earn astronomical profits on their initial ￰16￱ promise is alluring to individuals seeking the good life that quick big bucks bring — something that Shazad poses to have experience ￰17￱ accused facing multiple charges tied to being a con artist then exploits the targets’ wishes for financial security to sell them the FOMO on his so-called exclusive deals.

Moreover, he gives them scanty information and pushes them to sign complex investment ￰18￱ “pressure cooker” treatment has many investors yielding to his suggestions. Finally, he vanishes with the victim’s ￰19￱ before that, he’ll have given them the runaround on why the promised returns didn’t materialize. Typically, he will offer excuses and deflect blame before cutting all contact, leaving them counting their ￰20￱ element that adds to the legitimacy of the grift that led to Shazad’s arrest and eventual charges, his website , has since gone ￰21￱ are not only financial, as many victims experience emotional distress, feeling betrayed by someone they believed was a friend and ally.

Besides, such scams can lead to fear of engaging in similar luxury ￰22￱ can we protect ourselves from Shazad and other luxury scammers? The proliferation of Shazad-like scammers calls for vigilance when investing in luxury ￰23￱ it’s surprisingly easy to figure out the red flags to these con games, which is the first step in protecting ourselves from ￰24￱ be wary of investments promising super returns against little to no ￰25￱ projects also rush you to commit your funds, which isn’t the case with legit opportunities. Again, they are opaque and often name-drop celebrities to hoodwink you on their genuineness. So, you must research before investing in any luxury good or service ￰26￱ out a background check on the individuals and teams behind ￰27￱ way, you can weed out the impostors from the legit business ￰28￱ with a financial advisor before jumping into any investment project is also ￰29￱ professionals have the know-how and technical experience to sniff out shady luxury business ventures.

Crucially, reporting scam projects you may have encountered helps authorities take action and warn potential ￰30￱ seen where it ￰31￱ in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.