Rise in investment scams on Indian social media platforms | Fusion - WeRIndia

Cybersecurity experts have highlighted a significant rise in investment scams in India, particularly on platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and X.

These scams involve fraudsters convincing users to invest in cryptocurrencies and stocks by promising guaranteed returns.

A report from threat intelligence firm CloudSEK revealed this growing concern.

Since early 2024, CloudSEK has detected a substantial amount of malicious content on social media and messaging platforms.

The report identified over 29,000 fraudulent investment advertisements on Facebook and an alarming 81,000 fake investment groups on WhatsApp.

Additionally, it uncovered that 81,000 X accounts were impersonating well-known financial institutions to lend credibility to these scams.

Researchers from CloudSEK explained that scammers use various social media platforms to target potential victims, often utilizing compromised data to send direct messages.

Within these groups, victims are misled into believing they interact with legitimate investment firms.

The researchers noted that scammers provide fabricated earnings proofs to deceive victims.

By showcasing fake profits, they encourage further investments before eventually scamming the victims and removing them from the WhatsApp groups.

The report indicated that India, Malaysia, the US, Thailand, and Vietnam are the primary targets of these investment scams. In India, more than one lakh investment scam cases were reported in 2023.

In the first four months of 2024, digital fraud led to a loss of ₹1.2 billion in 4,599 cases. Additionally, 62,687 complaints of investment scams were registered, resulting in losses amounting to ₹2.22 billion.

CloudSEK’s findings emphasized the need for increased awareness and caution among social media users.

The rise of these scams highlights the importance of verifying the legitimacy of investment opportunities and being wary of unsolicited messages promising high returns.

As scammers continue to exploit digital platforms, users must stay vigilant and report suspicious activities to protect themselves from falling victim to these fraudulent schemes.

Image by Sagar from Pixahive (Free for commercial use / CC0 Public Domain)

Image Published on September 28, 2020

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