Seven Facebook (FB) posts used a false promise of P10,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to trick netizens into messaging bogus cryptocurrency sellers.
To bait readers, the posts carry a thumbnail screenshot bearing the DSWD logo, an image of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano handing out checks, and a text that read:
“Lahat ng makakasali makakakuha ng P10,000, (Everyone who participates will get P10,000).”
“The DSWD does not have any programs hathat give immediate cash to people. This post… uses the DSWD’s logo without permission and gives fake information about the department’s services,” a Feb. 7 advisory from the DSWDs’ official Facebook page said in Filipino.
The photo of Cayetano appeared in another scam debunked by VERA Files Fact Check more than a year ago.
To lure netizens into contacting bogus cryptocurrency sellers, the people behind the bogus posts spammed this message in the posts’ comments section:
“Huwag palampasin ang pagkakataong ito ngayon, pm ngayon at makatanggap ng pera bukas. PINDUTIN DITO AT TANONG SIYA KUNG PAANO MAGSIMULA (Don’t miss this opportunity, send [a private message] now and receive money tomorrow. Click here and ask them how to start).”
The bogus posts appeared in seven FB groups, garnering a total of 760 reactions, 1,731 comments, and 36 shares. These appeared the same day the DSWD gave away food packs in Daet, Camarines Norte.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
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