MHA Advises Citizens to Remain Vigilant Against Fake Advertisements on Social Media Platforms

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has warned citizens about a surge in fake advertisements on social media platforms that are being used to promote fraudulent investment schemes, fake job offers and elaborate online scams. Many times these ads are using deepfake videos to misguide the users. These scams have led to devastating financial losses for victims across the country, many of whom were deceived by convincing visuals, false claims and professional-looking online pages.

In one recent case, a twenty-five-year-old medical representative from Ahmedabad lost ₹44 lakh in a trading scam that began with an Instagram advertisement. Drawn by the promise of high returns, he joined a Telegram group managed by fraudsters posing as financial advisers. The group initially showed rising profits on screen to build confidence before the victim’s entire investment suddenly disappeared.

A forty-year-old woman from Ashok Vihar lost ₹21 lakh after falling for a fraudulent stock trading advertisement on social media. She downloaded a mobile application that closely resembled a legitimate brokerage platform. At first, small profits appeared in her account, convincing her of its authenticity. She was then added to a WhatsApp group of more than one hundred members where a woman posing as an expert guided her on investments. Believing the scheme to be genuine, she transferred money across three different bank accounts in Punjab, Bengal and Odisha. When she declined to invest a further ₹70 lakh, she was blocked from the application and realised she had been cheated.

A seventy-eight-year-old English tutor from East Delhi lost ₹13 lakh after receiving a phone call from a person claiming to be a police officer. The caller alleged that his number was linked to money laundering and transferred the call to another person posing as an officer from the CBI. Frightened by threats that his house would be confiscated, the elderly man complied with instructions to share his bank details over WhatsApp for verification. He was told to transfer funds to an account supposedly linked to the Reserve Bank of India and assured the money would be returned after the inquiry. Over nine days, he made three payments totalling ₹13 lakh before realising he had been deceived.

Cashback Con: Student’s Loss

A Political Science student from Rohini lost more than ₹1.4 lakh in a fake cashback scheme promoted through social media. Lured by promises of commissions via QR codes, she continued transferring money in the hope of recovering earlier payments. After a friend alerted her, she lodged a cyber fraud complaint and froze her account, recovering ₹40,000. However, the remaining ₹1 lakh had already been moved across several bank accounts before being traced.

Work from Home Scam: Aspirant’s Nightmare

A UPSC aspirant from Bihar, living in Kamla Nagar, was cheated after responding to a WhatsApp message offering part-time work rating hotels and restaurants. At first, small payments created an impression of authenticity. Later, he was persuaded to transfer money to complete higher-value tasks promising larger commissions. By the time he consulted his family, he had transferred ₹93,000 to multiple accounts. A complaint was filed soon after.

The MHA has noted that these incidents share a common pattern: fake advertisements, social media manipulation and rapid movement of funds across several accounts to make recovery difficult. The Ministry, through the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), continues to monitor and counter these threats by working with law enforcement agencies and digital platforms.

Citizens are urged to stay alert and avoid responding to unsolicited investment schemes, cashback offers or part-time job messages circulating online. Any suspicious activity should be reported immediately through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) or by calling the 1930 helpline, which has enabled the recovery of significant amounts for victims nationwide. Also, to remain alert and aware, MHA advises citizens to follow the official social media handle CYBERDOST on all leading social media platforms.

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