Scammers Impersonate Trusted Brands in Gambling Ads to Drive Casino Traffic

Researchers at Netcraft uncovered organized scam advertising campaigns that impersonate well-known brands (banks, retailers, streaming services) on social media to trick consumers into installing Progressive Web Apps that silently load real gambling sites via affiliate links; the report details three escalation tactics (simple branded ads, forged app listings, AI-generated promotional videos), lists multiple domains and spoofed URLs as IoCs, and advises verifying offers through official apps/websites and checking install targets.