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April saw the arrest of 184 social media accounts by Hyderabad’s Cyber Crime police, who discovered their connection to a network involved in illegal online betting, gambling, and fraudulent investments. This came as part of a series of cyber patrols conducted in an attempt to curb the spread of illicit information on the internet.
Profile Takedown
According to police authorities, the profiles were found on Facebook and Instagram and associated with 801 paid advertisements meant to promote gambling, betting, and investment schemes among users within India. In a statement released by the Cyber Crime wing of the Hyderabad police department, the ads were crafted with the intention of luring the vulnerable section of society through lucrative offers such as easy cash, bonuses, referrals, and higher returns on investments.
The profiles were also found sharing promotional content, referral links, and IPL predictions. Sometimes, police officials noted, the operators were using deepfake videos of famous personalities to attract public attention. By combining paid advertisements and social media activities was used to expand the schemes and make them more convincing.
The 184 profiles were reported to the relevant social media platforms and removed as a preventive measure. Police said this was done to stop the circulation of misleading and unlawful material before it could spread further.
FIRs Registered
Based on the violations identified during the operation, six first information reports were registered in April. According to police sources, the raid was due to the detection of content in cyber patrols conducted in the last few months.
As per the cybercrime unit, there has been a total of 427 social media accounts and 1,903 paid advertising campaigns identified as belonging to websites offering online games, illegal betting, and fraudulent investments to Indian citizens. The latest April action adds to that broader enforcement effort.
Further investigations are being conducted to locate the persons who operate these profiles as well as the financial sources involved. The investigation will be concentrated on identifying who was responsible for funding these advertisements, as well as the account administrators.
Public Warning
Alongside the shutdown of the sites, the cybercrime unit made a statement warning people not to engage in betting and gambling online, which is prohibited in Telangana state. The warning also warned about false promises made by fraud claiming high rates of return on investments and referral links.
The issuance of the warning indicates concern over the use of social media to spread misleading information regarding financial matters as well as gambling. In its statement, the police clarified that its aim is not only to prevent any dissemination of such information on the web but also to prevent people from falling prey to scams.
Enforcement Continued
This most recent step indicates that the police force in Hyderabad is committed to addressing cybercrime issues that are associated with the internet and other similar avenues. The efforts made by the cybercrime unit include the deletion of profiles and filing of FIRs to warn people about the dangers of illegal betting and fraudulent investment schemes.
However, during further investigations, one thing that needs to be done is figuring out who exactly is hiding behind these accounts and the process used to make the payments. From what was seen at the moment, the ongoing operation has already been able to target hundreds of such accounts and thousands of ads.
Source: The Times of India
