Researchers discovered a massive network of over 11,000 domains used to market several bogus investment schemes to European users.
To establish an air of credibility and attract a wider number of victims, the platforms display false evidence of affluence and falsified celebrity endorsements.
The operation's purpose is to dupe people into believing they have a chance for high-return investments and persuade them to spend a minimum of 250 EUR ($255) to sign up for the bogus services.
Group-IB researchers found the operation and documented the vast network of phishing sites, content hosting, and redirections.
More than 5,000 of the discovered malicious domains are still operational, according to Group-IB.
At the moment, the countries targeted by this initiative are the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Norway, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.
Scamming Process
To reach as many users as possible, the fraudsters promote the ads on multiple social media platforms or utilise hacked Facebook and YouTube.
Victims who fall for the scam and click on the advertisements to learn more are sent to landing pages with supposed success stories.
The crooks then ask for contact information. In an extensive social engineering scam, a "customer agent" from a call centre contacts the victim and offers the investment terms and conditions. Eventually, the victim is persuaded to deposit at least 250 EUR, while the information given on the false site is saved and utilised in future operations or purchased on the dark web.
After depositing the cash, the victim gains access to a bogus investment dashboard that supposedly lets them track daily gains.
After depositing the cash, the victim obtains access to a bogus investment dashboard that purports to show daily returns.
This is done to maintain the idea of a legitimate investment and attract victims to deposit more money in exchange for higher earnings.
The fraud is uncovered when the victim attempts to withdraw money from the site without first requesting final payment.
Group-IB researchers talked with the fraudsters and taped their chat with the operator during the inquiry.
Parts of this audio have been muted for privacy concerns.
Investments are never risk-free, thus promises of assured profits should be seen as warning flags. Furthermore, genuine investing platforms do not provide personal account managers for modest deposits.