Don’t believe this WhatsApp message on COVID-19 fund by government – Times of India

NEW DELHI: A fake message is circulating on WhatsApp which claims that the government has ordered the payment of Rs 1.30 lakh as fund to Indian citizens above 18-years age. The message comes with a link which tells WhatsApp users to click on it to verify their eligibility for this fund. Note that this message is fake and clicking on external links may lead to a phishing attack.
The fact check team at the Press Information Bureau, Government of India confirmed that this claim is fake and no such announcement has been made by the government.

Fake messages like these are often used by miscreants to phish WhatsApp users and steal personal information including bank login details.Also, note that clicking on unknown links may allow a malware to get automatically downloaded on your phone in the background. These malware are created to steal passwords of social media accounts, UPI apps and other sensitive data.
Recently, another similar fake message was doing the rounds which claimed the government of India is running a free solar panel scheme for the citizens of the country. The message claimed that the government is offering free solar panels for houses without any cost and requires people to fill out a form. The link to the alleged form is also included in the message and may lead users to getting scammed.
Phishing attacks are a very popular tool for scammers in India. It involves two things: a bait, which is a message, and a hook– the malicious URL. The message can be sent via email, WhatsApp message, SMS or any form of electronic message delivery through which the URL can be sent. These links may either lead you to a fake login page of any social media platform like Facebook, Instagram, etc or can even take you to a fake banking page. Once you enter your login details on these fake pages, the attackers gets to know the ID and password.