“App Developer” bamboozles Redditors as a millionaire using verified profiles

Re:“App Developer” bamboozles Redditors as a millionaire usi... by forkLding on Wednesday February 14, 2018 @12:00PM (#16377226)

Can I get a brief summary from a fellow HNer, not too versed with reddit and reading all the many reddit comments have confused me more than just simply reading that man's confession.

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Re:“App Developer” bamboozles Redditors as a millionaire usi... by psyc on Wednesday February 14, 2018 @12:08PM (#16377293)

It's not entirely clear, but I gather one of the following occurred: either 1) The person convinced Reddit they are a wealthy app developer, by using fake sources, or 2) The person is actually a wealthy app developer, and is trolling Reddit by telling them he was faking it.

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Re:“App Developer” bamboozles Redditors as a millionaire usi... by superasn on Wednesday February 14, 2018 @12:23PM (#16377423)

I don't know but #2 is equally as likely as #1. I just went through his FB profile[1] and some reddit comments[2] and this is just too much shit for it not to be real. I guess if this is a fake then it has to be one of the best fakes i've read online in the last 10 years.

[1] https://www.facebook.com/allenapp

[2] https://reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/67zv7a/my_dad_does_tile_fo...

[2.1] https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/68pck7/im_that_multim...

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Re:“App Developer” bamboozles Redditors as a millionaire usi... by stickydink on Wednesday February 14, 2018 @12:30PM (#16377487)

There's a YouTube channel with 60k subs and dozens of supercar videos, those would be pretty hard to fake

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Re:“App Developer” bamboozles Redditors as a millionaire usi... by giarc on Wednesday February 14, 2018 @12:19PM (#16377388)

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnethicalLifeProTips/comments/7xcou...

This is one of those times if you want to find out the truth, just step back and wait a while. It's all over the place in that thread right now.

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Re:“App Developer” bamboozles Redditors as a millionaire usi... by k1ns on Wednesday February 14, 2018 @12:29PM (#16377483)

This person pretended to be a millionaire mobile app developer on the internet (specifically on Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" community) by creating fake social media accounts, doing interviews with online news companies, and living out this persona of a rich tech mogul. He played the long con by amassing his followers organically and getting verified by major social media platforms (Twitter and Facebook specifically mentioned). He has apparently written a book about his app development ventures (which were not confirmed to be real or fake), been invited to speak at Harvard, and produces believable content that his followers consume despite it being a hoax.

He has used his stolen fame for good, however, by instructing his followers to donate to a charity concerned with clean water initiatives. He has motivated and inspired many people to make changes in their lives (including, but not limited to, becoming successful app developers themselves). Meanwhile, he's just an average joe who faked his way to the top.

My $0.02: if it's true that he is indeed a phony confessing to the world (which has yet to be confirmed), good on him. He has become what he originally faked. Maybe he isn't a successful app developer like he pretended to be, but he is a successful community figure no matter how small his circle may be. He has motivated, inspired, and helped the people he duped into believing his story. If this is all true, I've never seen a better use of being a conman (and probably never will). He's happy for the people he's inspired to become successful which seems to have made him genuinely happy himself. But, who knows, maybe the hoax is a hoax and we're the ones being duped.

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