Investment scams skyrocket on WhatsApp and Facebook, says CloudSEK

A scammer who has been in the business for over six years, with operators, was making around 41 lakhs a month

Prominent social media platforms WhatsApp, Facebook, X (earlier Twitter) and Telegram have seen disproportionate rise in investment scams over the last few months, a research by cybersecurity firm CloudSEK has revealed.

The firm in its research discovered over 29,000 malicious investment advertisements on Facebook along with a staggering 81,000 fake investment WhatsApp groups during the period of January to June, 2024. 

According to the report, a scammer who has been in the business for over six years, with operators, was earning around $ 50,000 (around 41 lakh) per month.

Further, personal data was available for purchase at $100 for 10,000 lines of data containing details such as phone numbers and names. 

 

The fraudsters were using sophisticated tactics, including impersonating reputed financial institutions and professionals, to lure unsuspecting investors into fake investment groups, promising quick and substantial returns. 

“Within these groups, scammers manipulate victims by providing fake proof of earnings and promising high returns. They then disappear with the investments, leaving victims with significant financial losses,” said the report.

These scam operations involve stolen data, fake profiles, and rigged trading platforms to steal money from unsuspecting victims.

CloudSEK also identified more than 81,000 fake profiles on X that were misusing the name of financial institutions to cheat users.

Geographies such as India, Malaysia, USA, Thailand, and Vietnam were the primary targets of these investment scams.

According to data from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the total amount lost to cybercriminals by Indians between January and April 2024 stood at a whopping ~17.6 billion.

Modus Operandi

Fraudsters acquire data through various methods, including targeted social media ads, unsolicited direct messages, fake investment groups, and SMS invites. 

There is a well-organised structure where criminals purchase hacked stock trading data from brokers who source it from underground forums, said the report.

“These brokers sell the data to organised crime groups that operate large-scale trading scams. The crime groups employ handlers and actors to execute scams, posing as successful investors and using social media platforms to lure victims into WhatsApp groups,” said the report.