Original article (in Serbian) was published on 13/12/2023; Author: Marija Vučić
A reader recently brought to Raskrikavanje’s attention a suspicious advertisement appearing on YouTube in Serbia. This ad falsely claims to represent Gazprom, Russian multinational energy corporation, offering Serbian citizens an opportunity to invest in gas and potentially earn 90,000 dinars (around 770 EUR) a month. The Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), largely owned by the Russian gas giant, has categorically denied these claims, labeling them as fraudulent. They informed Raskrikavanje that they have already filed over ten criminal charges in response to similar misleading advertisements exploiting Gazprom’s brand.
The questionable advertisement on YouTube redirects viewers to a video with the title “gzp-serbia,” hosted on an anonymous channel named “Darron Goring,” created at the start of November. This video showcases a montage of aerial city views, oil facilities, and appearances by Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian president, all alongside the Gazprom logo in a corner, suggesting an unwarranted association with the company.
“Do you want to earn 90,000 dinars per month? The company Gazprom announces a new regulation according to which every citizen of Serbia will have the opportunity to earn from investing in gas. You no longer have to worry about your future. The company takes responsibility for your financial well-being (…) Start earning 90,000 dinars already today”, reveals the video, published on November 12 and which has already been seen by almost 400,000 people.
Some of them lead to fake websites where people need to leave their information and choose the amount of money they want to invest (from 17,500 to 400,000 dinars), with the promise that the first payment will be made within a month. This was reported by Insajder in October.
NIS, in response to the rising incidents of fraudulent activities on social media involving their company name and brands, issued a statement to the public. They emphasized, “Due to the frequent occurrences of fake prize games and other frauds on social networks in which our company and our brands are misused, we would like to remind you that the official announcements of the NIS company, including possible prize games, shareholder and investor relations notices, and invitations to participate in our company’s projects are exclusively published on our official accounts and websites.”
NIS added that they have so far lodged more than ten criminal complaints with the Prosecutor’s Office for high-tech crime in connection with fake prize games and other internet scams.
“We invite citizens to inform the relevant Police Department and/or the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data in case of fraud in a fake prize game (…)”, said NIS.