The public are being warned to be vigilant as online gambling sites use fake names and photos to lure people in.
The Hāpai te Hauora Māori Public Health agency said the sites are targeting Māori using made-up success stories.
Hāpai teHauora chief operating officer Jason Alexander said often the fake profiles will steal photos from real-life whānau, give them fake names and create elaborate fake stories.
He said the agency has had a lot of messages from people seeing these fake posts and deepfake videos to endorse their products.
“It’s really dangerous. A lot of these are clear scams, so we don’t even know if they are linking through to real online casinos or somewhere to try and get your credit card details,” Alexander said.
“It really is disgusting behaviour.”
He said the posts were clearly targeting Māori by using images of people with moko kauae and pulling on family emotions.
“If someone is at rock bottom, if they’re looking for an out and this provides a potential lifeline then you’re not always thinking in the best frame of mind so you could be more susceptible to falling for these scams.”
Hapai te Hauora warns these sites are targeting Māori with fabricated success stories and deepfake videos. Photo / RNZ
Alexander said Hāpai te Hauora is particularly concerned because of a Government bill that would allow 15 licences for online casinos.
It wants to make sure companies that are exhibiting these behaviours do not obtain those licences.
“We don’t think that all of a sudden they’re going to start behaving ethically just because they get one of these licences,” Alexander said.
“We also want to make sure that whānau are aware of what’s out there and make sure that they don’t give their details to these scam sites.”
It comes after the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) cracked down on social media influencers using their platforms for promoting online gambling earlier this year.
Last month, the DIA also warned 10 university students about promoting overseas gambling websites on social media.
