CNN, BBC, and CNBC websites impersonated to scam people

Researchers have uncovered a large campaign impersonating news websites, such as those from CNN, BBC, CNBC, News24, and ABC News, to promote investment scams.

Adding a well known brand to your scammy site is a tale as old as time, and gives it an air of legitimacy that increases the likelihood that people will click the link and check out what’s what.

Here’s how the scam works:

The scammers buy ads on Google and Facebook, which follow a similar pattern along the lines of “Shocking: [Local Celebrity] backs new passive income stream for citizens!”
If you click the link, you’ll be taken to a website that look like one of the major news outlets, and which will tell you about a breakthrough investment strategy.
The article will encourage you to sign up for a program that will earn you money without having to lift a finger. You sign up by providing your name, email address, and phone number.
A friendly advisor (scammer) calls you about the opportunity, referencing the article and explaining how it all works.
You’ll be told that to start off you’ll have to make a small deposit (around $240) and then you will see your investment grow (on the fake trading platform).
Your friendly advisor urges you to invest more to increase your return. And it keeps on growing, until you want to cash in when you’ll find there’s extra fees to pay, problems with account verifications, and all sorts of delays.
When it dawns on you that you’ve been had, your entire investment and all the fees you paid are gone. Also gone is your friendly advisor who has sold your details to another scammer, to squeeze the last dollars out of the ordeal.

The researchers describe an international organization with 17,000 baiting news sites across 50 countries, with the US as the most targeted country.

The “investment platforms” have names like Eclipse Earn, Solara Vynex, and Trap10. Besides the ads, websites, and platforms, the scammers use countless social media accounts to host and promote the sponsored ads.

How to spot these types of scams

The account hosting the sponsored ad has no history, zero followers, and minimal profile details.
The ad shows a picture of a local celebrity and mimics a well-known news outlet implying that the celebrity is already using that platform.
The ad promises huge returns within a few days.
The “friendly advisor” asks for a lot of details about you claiming it’s because of KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations.
The website uses cheap top-level domains (TLDs) like .xyz, , .io, .shop, or .click.
The website URLs are typosquatting on major brands.

How to protect yourself

Besides being aware of the above red flags, here are some measures that generally keep you and your devices safe.

Use an active security solution that blocks malicious websites.
Don’t click on unsolicited links in emails, social media posts, and on untrusted websites.
Double check anything you read. Would a celebrity really endorse such an investment scheme? Is it real, or just clickbait or disinformation?
Don’t provide any personal information or send money to someone you just met online.
Verify that platforms are legit through official regulators (like the SEC in the US or FCA in the UK).

If you have already provided personal information to a scammer:

Immediately stop interacting with the scammer.
Change the passwords to important accounts and enable 2FA where possible.
Contact your banks and other financial institutions to alert them, and to freeze or flag any suspicious transactions.
Check your credit report and watch for signs of identity theft.
Report the crime to the authorities.