Hyderabad Police Bust Network Promoting Betting And Fake Investment Schemes

A total of 184 social media profiles operating across various platforms were identified and taken down in April for running 801 paid advertisements promoting online gaming, betting applications, and fake investment websites targeting users in India, police said on Saturday.

According to a release from Hyderabad Police, these advertisements were strategically designed to attract vulnerable users by promising easy money, bonuses, referral commissions, and unusually high returns on investments.

The Cyber Crime unit , through continuous digital monitoring and intelligence-based tracking, found that the profiles were systematically sharing promotional content, referral links, IPL predictions, and even deepfake videos of well-known personalities to lure the public into unlawful betting and fraudulent investment schemes.

As a preventive measure , all 184 identified profiles were reported to the respective platforms and subsequently removed to curb the spread of such misleading and unlawful content.

Police also registered six FIRs in April against individuals involved in promoting these activities.

As part of ongoing cyber patrol initiatives, authorities have so far identified and removed a cumulative total of 427 social media profiles and 1,903 paid promotional advertisements linked to online gaming, illegal betting, and fake investment schemes targeting Indian users.

Further investigation is underway to trace the individuals behind these operations and the financial channels associated with them . Legal action will be initiated against those found responsible under relevant provisions of law, the release added.