Fraud

In today’s online and in-demand world, marketing strategies are always changing. Back in the early 2000’s, it was still fairly common to see advertisements of celebrities talking about their favorite products and why people should buy or use them, today’s advertising is much different. Though television and radio ads still exist, they are no longer the norm. Influencer marketing has been on the rise since 2010 and shows no signs of stopping; however, does the practice really work and can it cause more harm to your business than good?

Oftentimes, when we think of fraud, we think of an elaborate scheme that may have been used in order to lead someone to believe false information. While this is true, majority of the time fraud cases aren’t as complicated as we might envision. In fact, a recent Texas appeals court decision outlines the specific criteria that must be proven in order to maintain a cause of action for civil fraud.

It’s hard to forget the infamous Fyre Festival. The music festival’s sleek, influencer laden marketing techniques that promoted an exclusive experience that never was were detailed in two different documentaries on Hulu and Netflix earlier this year. While the incident has resulted in prison time for the founder and a multitude of media coverage—it’s important to note the many lessons that business owners and investors can learn from this ultimate blunder.