Most online betting handles operating from abroad,s ay Hyderabad cops

Hyderabad: The majority of 184 social media handles blocked by Hyderabad police over the past month for promoting online betting were found to be operating from foreign countries to evade Indian security agencies.The social media team of Hyderabad's cybercrime police, after sustained scrutiny using various tools, traced several handles that were advertising online betting. After identifying these handles, officials tracked their IP addresses to know from where they are operating. "Most of these handles are being operated from Malaysia, Dubai, and a few other foreign countries. Though the accounts belong to Indians, they are being operated from foreign lands to target Indian users and lure them into betting by promising high returns," a cybercrime official told TOI.Officials suspect that individuals who created these accounts and shared their details with those operating the handles were paid for doing so. Users visiting these social media handles are redirected to online betting platforms upon clicking on them. The 184 handles were promoting as many as 801 advertisements. "These advertisements were strategically designed to attract vulnerable users by promising easy money, bonuses, referral commissions, and huge returns on their investments. The identified profiles were systematically sharing promotional content, referral links, and IPL predictions," Hyderabad police said.Illegal betting organisers have been using various platforms, including websites hosting pirated movies, the dark web, advanced encrypted messaging apps, and social media accounts, to lure vulnerable individuals with attractive advertisements that encourage them to place bets and make quick money. This cyber patrolling exercise began in Feb, during which police identified 427 social media profiles linked to Meta and identified 900 advertisements related to betting and fake investment schemes.So far, victims have not come forward, and officials are therefore unaware of the loss incurred. Letters have been sent to the social media companies concerned seeking details about the accounts, citing that online betting is banned in India. Police have registered six cases, and the investigation is ongoing.