A large-scale fraud campaign is afoot in Kansas, with online bad actors impersonating casinos on social media and trying to dupe unwitting residents
Social media links putatively leading to the websites of Kansas Star, Prairie Band and Winstar, but in reality, being nothing more than phishing scams, have proliferated on social media in Kansas with the exact number of affected people unknown.
Social Media Ads Mislead Casino Players Who Lose Deposits
Fraudsters, arguing against institutions in the state, have used fake gambling advertisements to offer consumers a non-existent $1,500 bonus for clicking on a link and signing up. The fraudsters have copied the original casinos’ identity to offer players a chance to “register and play.”
Kansas, however, does not offer online games just yet in the state. Despite this, at least some people have fallen for the ruse, trustingly depositing into the digital websites only to find out that there were no real casinos they could play at, and that their deposits have been siphoned off by the wrongdoers.
Among the first to report on the issue was KWCH-12’s Factfinder service, which quickly verified the fraudulent advertisement and reported it to authorities. The ads themselves had been able to lure unwitting players in and defraud them of their money. A local cited by the media issued a warning to fellow players:
Fraudulent Ads Expose People’s Personal and Financial Information to Bad Actors
“They’re always new ones for new casino. It doesn’t matter what casino it is, if you click on it and deposit your money to become a winner, you’ll become a loser,” the person said.
Not many other details about the case have been established. The ads have supposedly disappeared from social media, and there were no specific accounts of which social media networks in particular fraudsters were able to track.
The media which did the original reporting similarly reported that people who click on these links may also have their devices exposed to their malware and fall victim to ransomware or have their personal and financial information completely compromised.
