Fact Check: Viral Claim of Central Government Distributing 5000 Rupees To All Citizens on Diwali Is Fake
The claim that the central government gave a gift of 5000 rupees to all citizens on Diwali is misleading. This message aims to collect personal information from people, so it is important to remain vigilant against such scams.
- By: Sharad Prakash Asthana
- Published: Nov 5, 2024 at 10:27 AM
New Delhi (Vishvas News). During festivals, messages offering free recharge or gifts often go viral. Recently, on Diwali, a post claiming that the central government will distribute 5000 rupees to all the citizens is going viral on social media. Using India TV’s news clip and featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture, this post also mentions visiting a specific website to provide personal information.
Vishvas News’ investigation revealed that the viral message is fake. The central government has not launched any such scheme. This is a phishing message, designed to collect sensitive information from the users.
What is the viral post?
Instagram user ‘daily_update_99’ shared the video (archived link) on October 29, 2024, with the caption: “Modi government’s big gift on Diwali”
It has been claimed that the Modi government is offering a gift this Diwali, providing 5000 rupees to every citizen. People have been asked to visit a website and share their personal details and phone numbers to receive this amount.
Investigation
Upon viewing the viral video, we found it suspicious because it directs users to share information on a non-government website. If this were a government scheme, the information would also be collected on a government website.
After this, we searched this scheme on Google using relevant keywords, but no such media report was found.
We also searched the India TV news clip referenced in the video. A related video was uploaded on India TV’s YouTube channel on October 19, 2022, featuring the same clip. The video stated that on Diwali, PM Modi would present job certificates to 75000 youth across the country.
For more information on this, we reached out to cyber expert Kislay Chaudhary, who confirmed that personal information is being collected through these videos. They also request users’ PhonePe numbers, which could be misused by cybercriminals. He advises caution regarding such tempting messages.
We scanned the Instagram profile of the user who shared the phishing post and found several similar phishing messages. These included fake offers from Airtel and Jio, claiming to provide a free Diwali recharge worth 3599, while redirecting users to a website to share their phone numbers. Since neither company has made such offers, it’s clear these messages are intended to steal personal information.
Cyber criminals often try to defraud people by sending misleading messages during festive seasons. Our detailed report on this can be read here.
Conclusion: The claim that the central government gave a gift of 5000 rupees to all citizens on Diwali is misleading. This message aims to collect personal information from people, so it is important to remain vigilant against such scams.
- Claim Review : Central Government Distributing 5000 Rupees To All Citizens on Diwali
- Claimed By : Instagram user ‘daily_update_99’
- Fact Check : False
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