Passive income scam falsely linked to Royal Bank of Canada

Published on July 18, 2024 at 23:03
3 min read
By AFP Canada

Facebook advertisements featuring the president of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and claiming to offer Canadians the opportunity to earn thousands of dollars in passive income are a scam, the lender told AFP. The video in the posts uses altered footage of David McKay, and the Meta Ad Library says the posts fail to include a mandatory disclosure of who paid for the promotion.

"I am David McKay, president of the Royal Bank of Canada. Today is your lucky day," the head of Canada's biggest bank (archived here) appears to say in a Facebook video shared July 7, 2024.

"I have sent invitations to exactly 500 people. You are one of the 500 chosen ones who will get the chance to earn money that will change your life."

Text over the clip says: "Earn passive income by investing $350 and receiving around $30,000."

Screenshot taken July 12, 2024 from Facebook

The post mimics several other passive income offers AFP has debunked.

"This is a fraudulent ad. We encourage all consumers to be vigilant when it comes to online scams," RBC spokeswoman Gillian McArdle said in a July 12 email, pointing to tips on the bank's website for avoiding scams (archived here).

A reverse image search confirms the clip of McKay has been manipulated.

Canada's Asian Television Network (ATN) uploaded the original to YouTube on January 4, 2024 (archived here). He wears the same grey suit and purple striped tie while speaking with ATN Chairman Shan Chandrasekar (archived here).

Screenshot of the Facebook ad (L) and the original ATN interview taken July 18, 2024

Screenshot of the Facebook ad (L) and the original ATN interview taken July 18, 2024

McKay says the word investment only once -- and he is not referencing a purported passive income scheme for Canadians.

"There's some awards that we've won that I think I'm most proud of," he says. "Those are things like economists rating our RBC Capital Markets business global as the most trusted investment bank in the world."

McKay's mouth is not synced with the words he appears to say in the clip circulating on Facebook.

Other elements of the post also indicate the offer is fraudulent:

The page promoting it is called "All you need from UK," and its page transparency details do not show any administrators located in Canada.
The post appears to have 42 comments, but none are visible.
The link in the post does not lead to an investment platform, but rather the website for a conference organized by a group in Ottawa.

The Meta Ad Library says the video violated its terms of service as a promotional ad. But the post remains online, with some 50,000 views, and may be shared by Facebook users.

Screenshot of the Meta Ad Library taken July 18, 2024

Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.

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