Oilers icon Wayne Gretzky victim of online scam

In a disturbing echo of past internet deceptions, Wayne Gretzky has become the latest hockey superstar to be entangled in an online scam-a fate Sidney Crosby recently shared.

The deceptive strategies, thriving on social media platforms like Elon Musk's "X", leverage sensationalist ads to manipulate user interactions.

These ads, often posing provocative questions or making shocking claims, aim to drive clicks at the expense of user trust.

The scam involves advertisements that portray shocking scenarios to lure in clicks.

For instance, a recent fraudulent post showed Gretzky handcuffed and purportedly in police custody, a complete fabrication intended to spike user curiosity and traffic to the scammer's site.

The linked story, suggesting scandalous criminal activity, turns out to be entirely made-up.

This method of using high-profile individuals to generate revenue is not new but remains effective.

Scammers continue to exploit these tactics on platforms like "X", where oversight is lax, allowing such misleading content to proliferate.

The result is not only a misinformed public but also potentially significant reputational damage to those involved.

Gretzky's false depiction in handcuffs is just the tip of the iceberg.

Similar fraudulent campaigns have targeted other celebrities, including Sidney Crosby, whose image was used without permission in ads falsely claiming he retired due to scandalous reasons such as endorsing performance-enhancing drugs-a claim as baseless as it is harmful.

The recurring nature of these scams, involving figures like Gretzky and Crosby, signals a potentially larger issue with how advertisements are regulated on social media.

Both athletes are reportedly preparing legal actions to combat these violations, signaling upcoming battles that could draw even more scrutiny to the practices of platforms hosting such content.

This growing trend of targeting high-profile athletes for online scams underscores a critical need for stricter oversight and more robust consumer protection on social media networks.

As platforms struggle to curb these deceptive practices, the incidents involving Gretzky and Crosby serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges in digital advertising ethics.

By spotlighting these incidents, there's hope that increased awareness will prompt better security measures on social platforms, safeguarding both public figures and consumers from such exploitative tactics.