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TL;DR
- Dismislab uncovers Facebook scam using fake “groom wanted” posts to lure users to illegal gambling and trading sites
- 430 posts across 100+ pages, profiles, and groups exploit marriage narratives, generating high engagement and click-through rates
- Scammers use affiliate marketing and honey-trapping techniques, earning commissions through unique referral links
- The campaign violates Bangladeshi laws and Facebook policies, highlighting need for increased vigilance and proactive measures
In a recent investigation, digital security research firm Dismislab has uncovered a sophisticated scam on Facebook that uses fraudulent “groom wanted” posts to redirect users to online gambling, cryptocurrency trading, and foreign exchange sites. The research reveals that these deceptive posts are part of an elaborate scheme exploiting the promise of marriage to drive traffic to illegal and high-risk websites.
The scam typically presents itself as a matchmaking post seeking a groom for a woman portrayed as a successful expatriate with assets abroad. One common narrative features a 29-year-old woman returning from Italy who owns a two-story house, four bighas of land, and a coffee shop. These posts claim the bride will take her future husband back to Italy, offering what appears to be an attractive proposition. However, a link provided in the comment section, supposedly offering further contact information, instead redirects users to gambling and trading sites.
Since July, Dismislab has identified a total of 430 posts using this tactic across 66 Facebook pages, 16 profiles, and 22 groups. These posts collectively garnered more than 11,000 shares, 200,000 reactions, and thousands of comments, reflecting a high level of user engagement and curiosity.
The investigation revealed that a network of over 100 pages, profiles, and groups has been systematically promoting these posts. For example, the Facebook page MN Media, which has 93,000 followers, is a major source of these posts, frequently claiming to be a legitimate matchmaking service while posting as many as 20 to 30 “groom wanted” ads daily, each with links leading to gambling and forex trading sites.
At the core of the scheme is affiliate marketing, a method through which scammers earn commissions by directing traffic to gambling websites. Each link embedded within these posts contains a unique identifier, or referral key, that tracks user clicks and generates revenue for the promoter. Dismislab found 82 distinct referral links among the 430 posts, with just 19 unique referral keys, indicating that the scam may be driven by a small group of individuals.
The posts also engage in honey trapping, a technique that exploits romantic or marriage-based narratives to deceive users. While these scams have used various fake profiles, they often recycle descriptions and even use images of different women for the same fictitious bride.
Upon clicking the links within these posts, users are redirected to an array of online gambling and trading platforms. In some cases, the links change destinations with each click. Among the gambling platforms identified were “Krikia,” “Jit-baaj,” “Babu88,” “Baji,” “Six6BD,” and “Six6SBDT Online,” while the trading sites included “Quotex” and “Pocket Option.”
The scam violates multiple regulations and policies. In Bangladesh, online gambling, forex trading, and cryptocurrency transactions are prohibited under Bangladesh Bank’s regulations. Additionally, the scam breaches Facebook’s rules against cloaking, spam, and deceptive practices, as the links redirect users to unexpected destinations under the guise of matchmaking.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has previously cracked down on similar campaigns. In May, Meta removed 50 accounts and 98 pages in Bangladesh for Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (CIB), where networks of pages and profiles mislead users for financial gain.
As the investigation highlights the sophistication and scale of these fraudulent activities, it underscores the need for increased vigilance and proactive measures from both users and social media platforms to combat such scams and protect individuals from falling victim to deceptive practices online.
Source: The Daily Star
