Fake Bank Ads on Instagram Target Canadians with Phishing Scams

Con artists exploit Instagram ads to mimic legitimate Canadian banks and steal user data through phishing and deepfakes.

Scammers impersonate Canadian banks in fake Instagram ads

Threat actors are exploiting Instagram’s ad system to impersonate reputable Canadian banks and trick users into sharing personal and financial information.

These fraudulent campaigns mimic the branding of institutions like EQ Bank and BMO, using convincing visuals and offers to lure victims.

As Bleeping Computer reports, these ads sometimes redirect users to fake websites resembling the real ones. In one instance, an ad styled after EQ Bank led to a phishing site disguised as an RBC domain, prompting users to enter their banking credentials.

Deepfakes and deceptive branding amplify the threat

To complicate matters, some scammers have been spotted leveraging AI-generated deepfake videos to bolster credibility. A set of ads falsely claimed to represent “BMO Belski,” exploiting the name of Brian Belski, BMO’s Chief Investment Strategist.

These ads featured deepfakes of Belski and led users to WhatsApp groups falsely labeled as private investment opportunities.

What makes these ads particularly deceptive is their use of familiar marketing tactics, such as investment screening questions and seemingly personalized outreach, tactics typically seen in legitimate financial campaigns.

Hidden Facebook origins and repurposed accounts

Although the ads appear on Instagram, many are launched through Facebook pages that don’t even have an Instagram presence. This workaround is made possible through Meta’s ad management tools, allowing scammers to sidestep detection by avoiding the creation of traceable Instagram accounts.

Further investigation by Bleeping Computer revealed that some of these pages were repurposed from older, unrelated accounts to appear more established than they are.

Ongoing investigation and public safety warnings

Both EQ Bank and BMO have been notified of the fraudulent activity and are working with platforms to address the issue. Meta has confirmed that an investigation is underway, although some ads reportedly remained live for days after being flagged.

Consumers should remain vigilant, verify sources and avoid too-good-to-be-true offers on social media platforms. Dedicated scam detection tools, like Scamio, can help you thwart threat actors’ efforts to deceive you.

Its AI-powered features can help you detect and avoid scams in SMS messages, instant messaging texts, emails, links, images, and QR codes. It also works with given scenarios: describe the situation and Scamio will assess its perceived legitimacy.

Scamio is free and available on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Discord and your web browser. You can also help others stay safe by sharing Scamio with them in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Romania, Australia and the UK.