Online Scam has been prevalent nowadays. Scammers now use fake money making ads to dupe people .

On Thursday, 2 January, a man came to my DM and wrote to me “Greetings Am DANIEL ‘ chatting from Lagos Nigeria, I have something that brings money if you promise to give me 40% on your first withdrawal??

He then asked me. “Which package can you go for because you can only do it once? He continued “3k to add 300k,4k to add 400k, 5klll to add 500k. Note All are 30% payment after sporty bet balance is been added successfully”

After this he sent me a link to Sporty Bet to create my account. Immediately I made a payment of N5K.

After payment, I waited according to his instructions to withdraw. After 5 days I went to see if I had earned to see N0 in my account. I called him but he didn’t pick the call. That’s when it dawned on me that I had been duped.

Given this ugly experience, I decided to investigate some of the online ads I have seen around in recent times.

I am not Alone

For decades ads have been used to promote businesses on Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms. The ads are generating thousands of people to do businesses once again. But this time, Scammers are impersonating the businesses being advertised

A group of Instagram ads unverified are spreading fake money making links and duping people of their hard earned money in Nigeria in a coordinated way. Like the original ads the ad claims to enrich people by performing simple tasks.

Speaking with the online business coach, Olivia Onochie she said “I have lost so much online and I was scammed #20K. But I learnt from it.”

She said if you see anything like this, “This is about sporty bet adder. This has nothing to do with betting or gambling. This has nothing to do with betting or gambling, you’re only making use of an account to get your 2K boosted to 200K and it’s withdrawable. What matters most is the adder link. I’ll help with the link as far as you stand on your promise. Are you interested??” Know that is scam

According to her, online businesses are not all scam. You can win and you can lose. But any unverified ad on social media that directs you to a whatsapp or telegram group chat of people you don’t know where you are asked to pay some amount of money to earn money is scam and fake

“Anyone and that takes you to a place where you will use your money to sporty bets, gaming stuff, they are all scam. Tons of people have fallen for it.” She said

Another online coach, Mr Kingzy, highlighted that 80% of online businesses are fake. And anyone that asked you to pay to earn is fake or else well investigated.

Real money making websites or apps will not come to your DMs or post unverified ads on social media to lure people to their website. Rather they will advertise their business through social media stars.

Like how the verified tiktoker Betty advertised about UPHERIOR, famous dancer Purple Speedy advertised about BENEFIX, popular comedians, Mr Sabinus advertised ANCHOR and many more. Though this money making apps and websites crash. Major reason you need a well experienced familiar coach to guide you.

Why do they share these ads?

The major impact of this fake money ad is defrauding and scamming people opposite their claimed purpose of enriching people

On January 4, I clicked on an ad by Master Funder that reads “trade gold with master funder core trading challenge! Start trading as low as $25.”

The ad claims to reward and refund it’s users their money after depositing $25 in their website.

It encouraged interested users to click on the link below 

I clicked on the link attached to Instagram which took me to a website.

A form at the bottom of the website requested my name, physical and email address. After registration the website instructed me to pick an auction of $5 to earn $10K or any other one of my choices. Once you pick an auction you will be directed to a payout page where you will deposit your money.

The website is like a game. After the auction you will either win or lose the challenges. This is a trick to reap people off their hard earned money. Nobody has ever won the challenge. And it’s a lie, the money is not refundable. “I was a victim.” said Vera Francis.

What are the techniques used by fraudsters?

PHISHING.

According to check point Phishing is a type of cybersecurity attack during which malicious actors send messages pretending to be a trusted person or entity. Phishing messages manipulate a user, causing them to perform actions like installing a malicious file, clicking a malicious link, or divulging sensitive information such as access credentials.

MALWARE

A software that is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.

INVOICE FRAUD

Is a type of financial crime where someone sends a fake or altered invoice to a business, with the intention of getting them to pay. The goal is to trick the business into thinking they are making a legitimate payment.

RECEIPT SCAM

Receipt fraud is the act of stealing or falsifying receipts to get a refund or other benefit. It can involve: Returning stolen items, Returning items to a different store for a higher price, Adjusting customer records in exchange for incentives, and Stealing cash or checks.

FAKE WEBSITE

Scammers create fake websites that look like they’re from a legitimate source.

FAKE OFFERS

Scammers make false promises about products, services, or investments.

What are some examples of these frauds?

2020, A Facebook page called “M.T.N Lockdown Giveaways – Kingdom” is advertising phone, car and laptop giveaways for students.

“MTN is here to support the First 5,000 students because of this pandemic period,” one post reads. The MTN giveaway was a big scam

August 17, 2023

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has received reports that our office’s name is being used in government imposter scams. These are usually intended to convince you to send money or financial account information to scammers who use our office’s name because it sounds serious and legitimate. Read more on this

On Thursday, Dec 29th 2024. I clicked on an ad that reads “earn #600,000 online with Google Admod. Earn per view.

The post also claimed that users can earn $30 daily and withdraw $100 on 21st of every month.

It encouraged interested users to click the link attached to it.

How much can the ad really pay?

I clicked on the link attached to the Instagram ad and it directed me to a telegram group chat with 11.4K users with only the admin posting on the group. It’s best not to join whatsapp or telegram group chat of people you don’t know, talk more or take instructions from them.

In the telegram group chat, the admin displayed fake receipts of people that earned to convince others to pay without proper research. This technique is known as “receipt scam.” The admin instructed everyone to pay N20,000 (N15,000 for the first 10 persons) for their app to be built for them.

How can N15,000 – N20,000 build an app in Nigeria?

According to Wale Maker. “A simple app with basic features could cost anywhere from ₦500,000 to ₦4,000,000. A more complex app with advanced features and a unique design could cost anywhere from ₦6,000,000 to ₦15,000,000 or more.”

DMX added, “The cost of mobile app development in Nigeria would be around from $5000- $25,000(N8,261,050.00000 – N38,808,750.00)”

After the payment the users were given links before realizing it was all a gamble by fraudsters.

How do I know about fake money making ads?

Due to the damage inflicted by Scam ads users need to be very careful not to fall victim.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, social media scams resulted in losses exceeding $2.7 billion in 2023 alone.

Facebook and Google (€90 million)

Between 2013 and 2015, two of the world’s biggest tech firms were duped out of $100 million (about €90 million at the time) after falling victim to a fake invoice scam.

FACC (€42 million)

In January 2016, an employee at the Austrian aerospace parts manufacturer FACC received an email asking the organisation to transfer €42 million to another account as part of an “acquisition project.”

Scams ads or fake money making ads are usually unverified. With unbelievably low prices and exaggerated claims. Scammers often create URLs that closely mimic legitimate websites but include slight misspellings or extra characters. read more about identifying fake ads. dictate fake websites 

Also Read: Social Engineering Attack – What Your Organization Should Know