An investigative journalism piece published by snoop.ro reveals that fraudulent advertising networks promoting natural products and fake investments are collecting personal data of Romanians through deceptive websites. For this purpose, they use false images and statements, attributed to public figures, to convince users to leave their contact information.
Among the examples are advertisements featuring Călin Georgescu, Klaus Iohannis, or Ilie Bolojan, falsely presented as supporters of alleged get-rich-quick schemes. The messages are tailored according to the targeted individual.
Accessing these ads triggers a mechanism that automatically opens multiple browsing sessions in the browser and redirects users to a network of fake sites, making it difficult to return to the initial page. The pages use tracking tools to identify the profile of visitors.
In some cases, the public is offered raffles or promotions, thus obtaining the personal data of the users who access the platforms.
The analyzed data indicates that one of the promotional campaigns for a “miracle drug”, which used the image of Dr. Irinel Poposescu, generated by artificial intelligence, had over 445,000 views and nearly 1900 accesses to the sales pages, 843 people submitted their names, phone numbers, addresses, and made payments, generating revenues of almost $30,000.
The investigation mentions that these operations are associated with companies such as RocketProfit and AdNow and draws attention to the risks posed by disinformation campaigns and online fraud for the security of users’ personal data.
AdNow, for instance, is a Russian company, associated with the ruling party Edinaya Rossia. The firm has tried to promote vaccination conspiracies in the EU, through influencers and has dubious connections with politicians in Russia.
The full investigation can be read HERE.