DongIT featured in TV broadcasts Radar on misleading Instagram ads

Worldwide Instagram scam exposed: who is behind the fake ads featuring celebrities?

In the broadcasts on October 21, 2024, and December 9, 2024, Radar highlights misleading ads on Instagram that use celebrities to deceive people. Scammers post ads that resemble news articles from major media outlets, like AD, with shocking headlines such as “Celebrity Arrested” or “Scandal Involving Dutch Star.” Sometimes, they even go as far as falsely reporting a celebrity's death to grab attention.

In these fake ads, well-known Dutch figures like Alberto Stegeman, Annechien Steenhuizen, and Herman den Blijker are used without their knowledge or consent. These ads lead unsuspecting users to fraudulent websites that promise easy money but instead exploit victims financially. Instead of making a profit, victims often lose their savings, sometimes leading to severe financial consequences.

A key question raised by Radar: is Meta, Instagram’s parent company, doing enough to combat these misleading ads?

For the first episode on October 21, Radar visited the office of DongIT, where ethical hacker Wouter van Dongen explained how these scam websites operate and revealed the technical tricks used to trap victims.

In the second episode, aired live on December 9, ethical hacker Wouter van Dongen returned to Radar to share the findings of his investigation with the police. His research revealed that these scams are not limited to the Netherlands but are part of a worldwide fraud operation. Similar misleading ads have been found in multiple countries, using local celebrities to make the scams more convincing.