Scammers are telling welfare recipients that they’re eligible for free smartphones from the Australian government.
This is false. The government is not giving out free smartphones and the Facebook posts are part of a marketing scam designed to lead users to websites selling electronic goods among other phishing schemes.
The Facebook posts (archived here) have no connection to the Australian government and appear to be aimed at US audiences.
The captions typically say something like: “I just received my iphone 13 pro max from the Government and I am so grateful.
“Are you on Food stamps, Medical-aid, Section 8 or any form of Government assistance? Follow the link below to also get your free phone.”
The reference to Section 8 is a US government program that offers housing subsidies to eligible low-income households.
‘Medical-aid’ appears to be a misspelling of the US Medicaid program.
Some of the links in the posts lead to websites that claim the smartphones are available for “eligible Americans” (see for example here).
However, none of those websites appear to provide a way for users to claim a free smartphone.
AAP FactCheck found no evidence the Facebook posts in question were affiliated with either the US or the Australian government.
Scammers are making thousands of Facebook posts that encourage people to share content or click suspicious links.
That’s why it’s vital to know how to spot a potential scam post.
HOW TO SPOT A SCAM POST ON FACEBOOK – THE RED FLAGS
Treat posts appealing for help to find lost people or pets, offering extremely cheap or free products and services with caution if they include more than one of the following features:
* The person encourages everyone to share their post widely.
* They don’t provide their contact details or they ask people to send them a DM or PM (direct message or private message).
* The post includes only very vague details about the location of the person, pet or the giveaway.
* If the account of the person posting is less than a year old, has no profile picture, has very few friends, or isn’t located in the same area as the subject of their post.
* If you can’t comment on the post because the person has disabled comments. This is done to stop people from warning others that it’s a scam.
The Verdict
The claim that welfare recipients are eligible for free smartphones provided by the Australian government is false.
The phones do not exist, the users making the posts are not associated with the government and the posts are marketing and phishing scams.
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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