At least two Facebook (FB) posts baited people into clicking an e-commerce link by claiming that it will direct them to an online portal for accessing the National ID. This is misleading.
The FB posts that appeared on August 2 and 3 provided a five-step guide on how to download the National ID and asked people to go to bit.ly/digital-national-id-gov.ph. But the link in question redirects to a product page for wireless earphones.
Digital copies of the National ID may be viewed and downloaded at national-id.gov.ph, or through the eGovPH app on smartphones.
Philippine National IDs are available to those who registered under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) under the PSA.
To access a digital copy of the National ID through the national-id.gov.ph website, one must verify his/her identity by providing one’s full name, date of birth, and facial scan.
Users of the eGovPH app will be first asked to create a registered account by providing their personal credentials, and to verify their email address and cellphone number. Registered accounts may view and download the National ID via the app.
The misleading posts, created by FB pages trendnewsph (created on Sept. 9, 2023) and Philippine News Update (created on July 27), garnered a total of 262 reactions, 168 comments, and 1,637 shares.
These appeared five days after the official FB page of Barangay Calumpang in Molo, Iloilo City posted the exact same announcement, but it contained the correct link and information for viewing the digital IDs online.
Clickbait hoaxes are not new and continue to proliferate (VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Marcos, senators did NOT sing ‘Selos’ by Shaira). These bogus links, thumbnails and headlines usually bait people to click on them and redirect them to affiliate pages on e-commerce platforms that either request personal information or sell products.
