Malicious Links are Circulated in the Guise of Offering Free Mobile Recharge for Indians - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 19, 2024
Update (19 January 2024):
Another post is being share on social media claiming that PM Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath are giving free recharge of ₹ 749 for 3 months to the whole of India on the occasion of Ram Mandir inauguration in Ayodhya on 22 January 2024. The post asks users to recharge their number by clicking the link shared.
However, no such scheme was announced by either PM Narendra Modi or UP CM Yogi Adityanath. The link shared is a fraudulent one. When similar free recharge schemes were shared previously, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) clarified that the Indian Government is not running any such scheme.
Update (22 August 2023):
A post is being shared on social media claiming that Madhya Pradesh’s Bageshwar Dham temple head Dhirendra Shastri, also known as Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, is crediting Rs. 999 to every Indian citizen’s bank account for free. The post purportedly made by Bageshwar Dham Sarkar’s Facebook handle shared an URL link below and asks the users to click on the link to avail the benefits of this free money said to be distributed by Bageshwar Dham Sarkar. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
On clicking the URL link provided below the post, the URL led to a webpage claiming that Bageshwar Dham Sarkar intends to distribute Rs. 1999 to each individual in Madhya Pradesh. The webpage asks users to click on a red button to avail the benefits of this offer. However, after clicking the red button, the webpage didn’t lead to any other page. It is not the official website of Bageshwar Dham Sarkar and the purported Facebook handle that made this post was a parody account of Bageshwar Dham Sarkar. Bageshwar Dham Sarkar did not make any such announcement of crediting Rs. 999 to every Indian’s bank account either on his website or on his official social media handles. A spokesperson of Bageshwar Dham confirmed to a journalist that the viral posts are fake and advised people not to click on such fraudulent links.
Published (20 June 2023):
Several posts (here & here) carrying links to unknown websites are being widely shared on social media claiming that PM Modi is offering a mobile recharge of ₹239 for every Indian as part of his election campaign for the 2024 General elections. Let’s verify the authenticity of these posts.
Claim: PM Modi is offering a mobile recharge of ₹239 for every Indian as part of his election campaign for the 2024 General elections.
Fact: Press Information Bureau (PIB) clarified that the Indian Government is not running any such scheme and declared the posts as fraudulent. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We searched through official sources to check if such a scheme exists, but we couldn’t find any evidence to support it. Also, the BJP hasn’t announced any such offer as part of their election campaign.
When these posts gained traction on social media, the fact-checking unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) clarified that the Indian Government is not running any such scheme and declared the posts as fraudulent.
दावा : प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी द्वारा सभी भारतीय यूजर्स को ₹239 का 28 दिन वाला रिचार्ज फ्री में दिया जा रहा है #PIBFactCheck
◼️ यह दावा फर्जी है
◼️ भारत सरकार द्वारा यह फ्री रिचार्ज योजना नहीं चलाई जा रही
◼️यह धोखाधड़ी का एक प्रयास है pic.twitter.com/mE7V5aCOuS
Moreover, experts strongly advise against clicking on unknown or suspicious links, as doing so may result in the user’s device being infected and potentially lead to data theft.
FACTLY has previously debunked similar claims of PM Modi offering free talk time to Indians. To learn more about protecting yourself against online fraud and to gain valuable insights, follow FACTLY’s ‘RBI Be(A)ware’ series on YouTube.
To sum it up, malicious links are being shared under the guise of PM Modi offering free recharge for Indians.