Former scam rapper turned content creator Tankz was once a controversial figure who was featured in a BBC Panorama documentary about fraud and cybercrime. He has since went on to change his life for the better and is living his dream as a content creator. See his videos here.
The beginning:
He began his journey as a fraudster (allegedly) and would frequently posts videos of his activities on TikTok, such as collecting packages from from associates, flashing money, cars and holidays and would also sell guides on how to do fraud. He managed to create a following where he managed to get his song charting on TikTok. His largest song currently is titled “London Scammer” and is on over 36 million views on YouTube at the time of writing.
Getting Caught Up:
Tankz would continue his musical success and amass millions of views and streams whilst allegedly participating in his fraudulent activities. Eventually it would catch up to him. Former BBC (Now at ITV) journalist Kafui Okpattah produced a Panorama documentary about fraud & highlighted him as a person of interest as well as insinuating that he was a person who was helping glamorizing said crime in the UK and beyond. This documentary would go viral on social media and led to him temporarily fleeing the country on various trips until the heat died down. Unknowingly this helped push his musical career though it would lead to some legal trouble with him getting charged but eventually would be found innocent of all charges. He mentioned this in the interview we did with him below:
The Kidnapping:
After beating his cases Tankz would continue his ways whilst paying less attention in respects to his music career even though he was earning a healthy income of it on a monthly basis (Approximately $1,800 at the time of writing). He managed to buy a home outside of London where he would continue living his life carefree until he unfortunately got kidnapped. In our second interview he spoke on his harrowing experience of getting kidnapped and the fact that the suspects were tracking him for sometime (as months before his mechanic found a tracker on his car). He believes it was an inside job. He speaks about how he had a gun pointed at him and was robbed for approximately £100,000 in watches, cryptocurrency and cash.
Trying something new:
Tankz would try his hand in Podcasting and where he would interview the likes of Tommy Robinson, JTA and more whilst also doing solo-episodes with his co-host. at this time he would slowly transition into legal work but had struggles along the way. He attempted to try his hand at roles around economics (which he has a degree in) but got frustrated about the application and interview process which has become more tedious in the current economic climate. He later opted for a role as a delivery driver at Tesco for a few months and later into a delivery gig which he found frustrating; However, he persevered as he wanted to completely change his life around and felt that quitting would be setting a negative precedent for the rest of his life. Tankz has also reflected on changing his life around as he felt that scamming didn’t fulfill him and that the pain it caused people could one day find him.
Content creation:
Tankz is now a full flegded content creator and creates reactionary videos based on current events in the UK scene and beyond. He has now become a loved name and has fully changed his ways. He likely has employment on the side though I am sure that YouTube is performing well for him to contemplate doing it full time (if he hasn’t done so already). He’s stayed consistent, posting an average of 1 video a day since November. We loved seeing his transition and hopefully his change can demonstrate to others to change their lives.
