ELAS: Beware of fraudulent ads

Ha to caution Citizens are appealed by EL.AS. to advertisements What is being circulated on social media and websites is about alleged investment programs or supposed “miracles”. Drug preparations And who claims It is announced from People who are held in high esteem.

The ads in question, according to police, essentially appear as “sponsored” on social media, falsely claiming, in many cases, to come from Articles from reputable newspapers And websites, However, it is productive Digital processing With artificial intelligence applications (Deepfake).

In this show Mentioned above People to urge citizens to invest in the so-called High-return investment programs (Cryptocurrencies, gold, oil, etc.), expressing at the same time alleged personal experiences from which they themselves obtained large profits.

Therefore, in cases of fraudulent promotion of pharmaceutical preparations, the above-mentioned persons appear to do so Advertising of products of unknown origin Its effectiveness and perhaps a danger to public health, and they attributed to it “miraculous” therapeutic properties for various diseases, expressing here also alleged personal experiences about its alleged effectiveness.

In addition, in order These ads To become more persuasive, accompanied Fake reviews-reviews From “fake” accounts, where supposedly positive personal experiences are recorded. In fact, they are used to promote “consumer” websites that are constantly renewed (in case of deactivation) while their content is adapted and changed dynamically, depending on the country targeted by the perpetrators.

Investigations conducted by the Cybercrime Prosecution are continuing to deal with this phenomenon in cooperation with foreign police authorities. Europol, Interpol etc., because these are cases of transnational fraud.

in this context, ELAS recommends to citizens Be especially careful not to be deceived in the corresponding cases and in particular:

For fraud involving the provision of investment services:

• Be especially careful when you see advertisements for investment programs on the Internet promising high returns, even when they appear to be involving prominent and well-known people.
• Do not invest your money in services without being completely sure of their reliability.
• Be wary of contact by phone or email from foreign investment companies.
• Look for information about the reliability of investment companies that are close to you.
• Ask about the terms and conditions before making any transaction.
• Before providing any information or investment decision, check whether the company has a license from the Capital Market Authority, Bank of Greece or a European passport.
• See the list of warnings issued by the Capital Market Authority to the investing public, at the link http://www.hcmc.gr/el/warnings1
• Be careful if an offer sounds too good to be true. We think twice before we click. #ThinkB4UC Click
• Call the police if you are the victim of a scam.

For scams involving supposed “miracle” medications:

• Distribution and sale of medicines over the Internet is expressly prohibited by the current legislation of our country.
• Purchasing medications online poses serious risks to consumers' health.
• A large proportion of medicines sold online are counterfeit, counterfeit, of unknown origin, of questionable quality and effectiveness, and often pose a danger to the health of consumers.
• A medicine or preparation is safe only when it is produced and quality controlled in accordance with rules supervised by relevant government agencies, and only when it is available through a legal supply chain. In any other case, its use could seriously endanger the consumer's health. Relevant information about the risks of purchasing medicines and nutritional supplements online can be found on the website of the National Medicines Organization (EOF) at http://www.eof.gr

As stated by ELAS, citizens can contact, anonymously or by name, the Cybercrime Prosecution Directorate in the above-mentioned cases, as well as in order to provide information or report illegal or fraudulent acts or activities carried out via the Internet, at the following address: Contact details :

• Tel: 11188
• By sending an email to: [email protected]
• Through gov.gr in the Citizen and Daily Life/Complaints/Complaints related to cybercrime section
• Via Twitter: @CyberAlertGR
• Through a smartphone application: CYBERKID