Home
+
Published : 26 Jun 2025, 05:28 PM
A fake news site with a logo similar to bdnews24.com has been used to publish misinformation involving a financial scam that uses the likeness of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
Simultaneously, a fake video has been making the rounds on Facebook which uses the chief advisor’s likeness to promote a new government investment platform that promises to give Tk 370,000 in returns for a minimum investment of Tk 31,000.
Fraudsters have spread similar pieces of fake news before. In those cases, they also created a fake website using a logo similar to bdnews24.com and featured stories relating to Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed.
The new fake video involving the chief advisor began to spread as a sponsored post on Facebook on Jun 24. Several Facebook accounts were used for the purpose.
An analysis of the video reveals that it was doctored using an interview Yunus gave to Al Jazeera in April.
The video uses both fake and real logos of bdnews24.com. The headline tries to lure people in with a fake investment fund in the name of the government. It also says that the finance advisor will soon hold a press conference on the matter, which is untrue.
In the video, the scammers faked the voices of the chief advisor and the Al Jazeera presenter. The fake video shows them discussing the false investment fund.
A Facebook user who noticed the misinformation warned that the video was made “using AI” and urged everyone not to fall for such traps.
bdnews24.com has found evidence the fake video was shared on at least three Facebook pages. These pages named ghaith_ghourabi, Kiss Me, and Medicshare were launched at different times and have mainly been used to advertise various products.
Now, however, the videos are no longer visible on their Facebook pages.
The link from which the video was posted goes to a web page that looks like bdnews24.com but the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the page reads “DiscountCareServices.com”.
An attempt to access the discountcareservices.com website directly results in an error notice.
The fake report shared is written in English. Its title is “Muhammad Yunus's new project has already made more than 10000 Bangladeshis happy! The platform promises a guaranteed income of 1200000 BDT per week with minimum investments. Is this really true?”
Although the masthead of bdnews24.com is used on the website, other design inconsistencies are easily noticed. The news headlines shown in the ticker indicate that the scam was set up in May.
The key distinctions are:
The bdnews24.com logo is used, but the URL shows discountcareservices.com
The date is shown as May 26.
The design of the category tab and logo on the website is inconsistent
There is no ticker or scroll on the story pages of bdnews24.com, but one has also been placed on the fake site.
The report says that Chief Advisor Yunus has launched an alleged investment platform called Fortwix Agent, which is untrue.
The fake report uses the name of the chief advisor to falsely promote an alleged investment platform called Fortwix Agent. It claims that it is linked to notable companies like PDB, GTCL, BSRM and DBBL.
Even a picture of a fake circular from the Ministry of Finance is being used to defraud people into “investing” at least Tk 31,000. It promises returns in the hundreds of thousands of taka in a short period of time.
Clicking on the link for register and investment on the fake website goes to another website called FortuixAgent, where the URL also shows discountcareservices.com. The site encourages signups by promising “investors” they can earn Tk 95,000-215,000 daily.
To promote the initiative, pictures of Chief Advisor Yunus as well as the NCP Convener Nahid Islam have been used.
A search for FortuixAgent on Google turns up links to a website called https://fortuixagent.net/, which is blocked by antivirus software when an attempt is made to access it.
Another trading platform that looks exactly like FortuixAgent - Netherex Pro – also created a site that mimicked the appearance of bdnews24.com and spread fake news involving Finance Advisor Salehuddin among others.
A connection to discountcareservices.com was found on the domain information website. The domain name for the website is registered through a company called 'NameSilo LLC'.
The registration date is shown as Oct 17, 2024, with a validity of one year. It was last updated on October 17, 2024.
The registration information of discountcareservices.com shows contact information listed as Highland Avenue in Phoenix, US.
Several companies involved in web-based advertising, web designing, and search engine optimisation use the address.
Previously, fake reports were spread by creating sites similar to bdnews24.com, implicating the finance advisor, actress Sadia Ayman as well as Summit Group Chairman Mohammad Aziz Khan. Each time, they were shared from a different Facebook page.
A bdnews24.com spokesperson said, “Our logo is being used repeatedly for such frauds. We will take action in this regard.”
bdnews24.com has reached out to the Chief Advisor’s Office for comment on the matter.
