This article was first published on RNZ.
The public are being warned to be vigilant as online gambling sites use fake names and photos to lure people in.
Hapai te Hauora Māori Public Health said the sites are targeting Māori using made up success stories.
Hapai te Hauora 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 they have 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 strings.
“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.”
Alexander said they are particularly concerned due to a government bill that would allow 15 licences for online casinos.
Hapai te Hauora wants to make sure companies that are exhibiting these behaviours do not obtain those licenses.
“We don’t think that all of sudden they’re going to start behaving ethically just because they get one of these licenses,” 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.
By RNZ’s Midday Report.
