OSINT IS IMPORTANT:

"Friend" (I barely know) IRL texts me an image of someone photographed with the president of China.

He tells me his friend managed to get them a meeting with that person, saying he is a "billionaire" who will allow them to invest money in him... (1/4)

...even though they only have small capital.

He claims it is in order to test his trading strategy. my friend asks whether I want to join the meeting to hear more.

I google that "billionaire", first of all, you quickly find he is a millionaire. (2/4)

He got his photo with China's president by donating $1,000,000 to a political party under the name of his company.

There are barely any google results mentioning him.

I found his company's website, he is no longer written in management. (3/4)

Sounds like a bankrupt millionaire with a somewhat reputable photo, trying to scam people.

And yea, if I didn't know how to use OSINT and have the common sense that goes along with knowing OSINT, maybe I would have gotten scammed. (4/4)