Cheating trap by advertising in the name of PM on Fb
Around the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, various circles have indulged in digital fraud on various social media including Facebook. They are adopting new techniques to trap users. One such trap of fraud has been seen surrounding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Money is being grabbed by promoting a post on Facebook with a fake promise of giving an Eid bonus of Tk 25-30 thousand to every person in the country.
Not only that, sometimes the picture of the Prime Minister, sometimes the logo of the media is used by the fraudsters to make this trap believable. Looking at the ad, many people thinking that the Prime Minister herself announced the bonus and it has been published in the mainstream media. And getting tempted, they are entering the fake website of fraudsters imitating the development website and losing money.
On June 5 and 6, the Fact-Check Group Rumor Scanner monitored the Meta ad library and found that more than 12,000 ads had been promoted to deceive. A large number of these ads were found by the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit using the keyword 'click here to get bonus'.
According to Rumor Scanner, these ads are being circulated from various Facebook pages created in the name of women. So far they have created a list of 20 such pages. Observation shows that most of the page admin location is showing in Indonesia and Cambodia. Apart from this few page admin location is shown in Bangladesh and admin location of only one page is shown in India.
Investigations by the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit revealed that fraudsters promoting these ads using three types of digital banners. Each banner used the image of the Prime Minister. The two banners feature the Prime Minister's photo as well as the logo of the private television channel. In another banner, a screenshot of the message of cashing in Tk. 30,000 used in Bikas.
Scammers add links to various trusted websites with the ads to gain trust. One of the ads shows a link preview of the official website of Nagad, one of the country's leading Mobile Financial Services (MFS) providers. But if you enter the link, you are taken to a fake website made in imitation of Bkash's website.
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