'He lived a full life': 'Tributes' flow for Sunrise host David Koch, 67, as he is rocked by viral death hoax
David 'Kochie' Koch has been targeted by a cruel death hoax with criminals using his image and fake news of his passing to scam people out of thousands of dollars.
The Sunrise host, 67, was bombarded with 'tributes' over the weekend when a Twitter post announcing his death went viral, Crikey reports.
Originating from a hacked account, the tweet included a link redirecting users to a cryptocurrency scam featuring fraudulent celebrity endorsements purporting to be from the likes of Koch, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates and others.
'Although saying goodbye is never easy, we take comfort in knowing that Kochie lived a full and meaningful life, leaving behind a legacy of kindness, warmth and compassion,' the scam tweet read.
The message was accompanied by a black and white photo of Koch looking distraught with his hands over his face.
Sunrise host David 'Kochie' Koch has been targeted by a cruel death hoax with criminals using his image and fake news of his passing to scam people out of thousands of dollars
Koch retweeted the post and assured his followers that despite taking a week off work, he was 'alive and well'.
'Just for clarity, I'm alive and well and enjoying AFL's Gather Round in Adelaide with all my family. This stuff is really giving me the s**ts,' he said.
The owner of the Twitter account, Kimberly Ramirez, told Crikey she 'had no idea' her hacked account was spreading a crypto scam under the guise of a tribute to Koch.
The Channel Seven presenter was bombarded with 'tributes' over the weekend when a Twitter post announcing his death went viral, Crikey reports
'I had no idea this was happening. I had deleted the app off my phone for a while and forgot about it,' the New York-based advertising worker said.
She went on to say she had received an email from Twitter alerting her to a login attempt on her account. The email stated the hacker could have accessed her account from Lake Forest, Illinois.
After they successfully hacked into her account, they changed the password and began spamming her profile with links to the cryptocurrency scam.
'This a**hole left me a debt of over $1,000 on ads,' Ms Ramirez said.
Originating from a hacked account, the tweet included a link redirecting users to a crypto scam featuring fraudulent celebrity endorsements purporting to be from the likes of Koch
Koch's death hoax was viewed 140,000 times and more than 6,000 Twitter users clicked on the advertisement, which led them to a website pushing Immediate Edge.
The 'get-rich-quick' scam boasts fake endorsements from celebrities such as Jeremy Clarkson, Piers Morgan and Justin Trudeau.
People who have fallen victim to the scam claim they signed up to the service expecting 'great returns' from cryptocurrency investments but were locked out of their accounts after depositing hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Koch retweeted the post and assured his followers that despite taking a week off work, he was 'alive and well'
'Just for clarity, I'm alive and well and enjoying AFL's Gather Round in Adelaide with all my family. This stuff is really giving me the s**ts,' said Koch (pictured at an AFL game in June 2018)
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