Controversial online influencer Andrew Tate has reportedly promoted dubious money-making schemes, along with sinister and troubling misogynistic views, on his widely followed social media accounts. His influence on the internet has spread so far that many copycats emerged online mirroring his behavior and tactics.
One copycat account in particular is almost indistinguishable from Tate's official Twitter account, @Cobratate, complete with blue checkmark and all. A tweet comparing screenshots of the real and fake accounts included the comment, "Even the verified grifters aren't safe. A cloned Andrew Tate account is pumping crypto scams."
Even the verified grifters aren't safe.
A cloned Andrew Tate account is pumping crypto scams.
To 1.3 million followers. pic.twitter.com/d2GktJ3980
— John Scott-Railton (@jsrailton) June 21, 2023
The left screenshot showed @Cobarrtate, which had 1.3 million followers, while the right showed Tate's actual Twitter account, @Cobratate, with its 6.9 million followers. Both accounts look almost entirely the same with indistinguishable profile pictures, and they link to Tate's official website.
Both accounts listed his location as being in Dubai, even though at the time of publication he was currently under house arrest in Romania. He continued tweeting regularly, despite his incarceration.
However, Tate's official website only linked back to @Cobratate, not the imposter account, @Cobarrtate. Furthermore, only @Cobratate's tweets have been reported on by various news outlets.
Tate's real account actually warned about scams on May 17, 2023, at 5:16 p.m., saying until he gave the signal to buy bitcoin, no one should do so, and that any other calls to buy were "all scams": "OK FUCK IT I WILL ENDORSE A SHITCOIN AND SEND IT TO THE FUCKING MOON ON THE 1ST OF JUNE. DONT BUY ANY COIN UNTILL YOU GET THE SIGNAL FROM ME THEYRE ALL SCAMS."
OK FUCK IT I WILL ENDORSE A SHITCOIN AND SEND IT TO THE FUCKING MOON ON THE 1ST OF JUNE.
DONT BUY ANY COIN UNTILL YOU GET THE SIGNAL FROM ME THEYRE ALL SCAMS.
HU STUDENTS GET TOLD 1 HOUR IN ADVANCE.
EMAIL LIST GETS 5MINS IN ADVANCE.THEN I PUMP SOME RANDOM GARBAGE TO…
— Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) May 17, 2023
@Cobratate's tweet was then retweeted by the fake @Cobarrtate. The fake account also promoted cryptocurrency by mirroring Tate's tweets with the same promotional line, writing at 8:46 p.m. on May 17, 2023: "OK ITS TIME I WILL ENDORSE A SHITCOIN AND SEND IT TO THE FUCKING MOON ON THE 1ST OF JUNE. NAME TOKEN $TATE."
OK ITS TIME I WILL ENDORSE A SHITCOIN AND SEND IT TO THE FUCKING MOON ON THE 1ST OF JUNE.
NAME TOKEN $TATE
PRESALE ADRESS: 0x0249FDed9c1583E1E20B1e444A517642740D017D
MINIMUM: .025 ETH. MAXIMUM: 5 ETH.
DROP YOUR ETH ADRESS IN COMMENT
— Andrew Tate (@Cobarrtate) May 18, 2023
We took a screenshot of the retweet by the fake @Cobarrtate. Given how the Twitter profiles are almost identical and the profile names are the same despite the handles being different, it is easy to see how many online would mistake the two accounts.
(Screenshot via Twitter/Cobarrtate)
Tate himself has not been immune to accusations of scamming. He shut down one of his moneymaking efforts conducted through his so-called "Hustlers University" after claims that he was running a "pyramid scheme." He said such claims were "false."
The origins of the social media account are largely unconfirmed but many online claimed that the original account belonged to the father of popular South Korean singer Mark Tuan of GOT7 band. On May 17, 2023, a tweet that appeared to be from Tuan's sister shared a screenshot of the @Cobarrtate profile and claimed: "Please don't engage with this account…it is my dad's account, but it has been hacked and taken over, we are trying to get it back but for now please do not engage …would hate for anyone to get scammed."
Please don't engage with this account…it is my dad's account, but it has been hacked and taken over, we are trying to get it back but for now please do not engage …would hate for anyone to get scammed pic.twitter.com/5gXCUlMTMZ
— Grace Tuan (@gytuan) May 18, 2023
One post argued that Tate himself was behind the hacking, but we have no evidence to confirm this. The post also claimed that the original Twitter account handle had been changed along with the profile picture and header. None of the account's tweets prior to May 15 reference Tate. We reached out to an Instagram account associated with Raymond Tuan to learn more about the hacking report and will update this post if we get more information.
On June 21, 2023, Tate was charged with rape and human trafficking in Romania. According to various reports, many of his followers online continue to boost his posts despite the accusations against him.
In July 2023, a reader alerted us with an update on @Cobarrtate. The account no longer exists under that username. Instead the account username @linbea945_ cropped up with the same recent retweets of Tate's original Twitter account and more that a million followers. @Cobarrtate's tweets have all been deleted but the profile has been archived here.
In sum, the above tweet by @jsrailton accurately compares a fake Tate account with the real one, @Cobratate. Given that @Cobarrtate is clearly impersonating the real Twitter account, we rate the claim as "False."