Fact Check: Rs 5,000 reward through PMMY scheme? No, the Facebook ad is a scam

Hyderabad: A video circulating on social media claims that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is sending Rs 5,000 to the bank account of everyone who clicks on a link.

The video shows an image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) logo and the BJP party logo. The text on the video reads, “Click on the ‘Get Offer’ button and win Rupees 5000.”

The audio said, “Citizens of Uttar Pradesh, through the Prime Minister Mudra Yojana, click now on the ‘Get Offer’ button and get up to 5000 in your PhonePe account from the BJP government.”

The video was shared as a Facebook advertisement. There is a link accompanying the post.

Posts making similar claims can be seen here, here and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2 and Archive 3)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. This is a reward-based scam executed using UPI.

The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) website did not contain any information on this offer. There are no news reports or credible social media sites talking about this offer.

Clicking on the link posted on the viral Facebook post led us to a website where the domain name starts with ‘winzo.could’, which is unusual. Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers flagged the webpage as a ‘Dangerous Site’. (Archived version of the webpage)

This webpage contains two images of PM Modi, the BJP logo and a scratch card. The text on the top reads, “₹5,000 free to all citizens through the Jan Dhan Yojana. Scratch your card to receive it in your account.”

The scratch card revealed an amount of 993. The text below states, “Up to ₹5,000 gifted to every Indian citizen through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. Send to bank account by clicking here”

However, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) website does not show any notifications or press releases regarding a gift. There is no news coverage regarding the same.

Upon clicking as prompted automatically opened the PhonePe app, with a pre-filled UPI payment request. A screen appeared showing a request to pay Rs 993 to an unknown UPI ID.

The text in the description box reads, “Select the account you want the Cashbank amount to be deposited in”.

On tapping the ‘Pay 993’ button, the app prompts for the UPI PIN. This shows that this action would authorise a payment from the bank account to the scammer’s account.

The website uses a deep link, a type of link that directs users to a specific location within an app, to open PhonePe with pre-filled details to trick users into approving the transaction.

Behind the Facebook Ad

The Facebook advertisement was paid for by the user ‘JDY service 2026’. This page has over 750 followers. The profile picture and the cover image use the BJP logos, with one of the posts even containing PM Modi’s image.

Using the Meta Ads Library, we found that this user ran about 35 advertisements on Facebook and Instagram between November 12 and 17. Many of these ads were used to promote a false ‘Rs 5000 reward’ offer and direct users to suspicious external websites.

The estimation of the total amount spent by the advertiser ranges between Rs 70,000 and Rs 85,000. The estimated total impressions on these advertisements range from 2.5 to 3.2 million. That means that these ads were shown to millions of Facebook and Instagram users.

One of the comments on the ad was by a user, Ramesh Kumar Ram, who wrote, “Sir, my money has been deducted please refund my money.” This indicates the advertisement was indeed scamming people into sending their money.

Even though most of the ads were removed by Meta for violating advertising standards, the user kept running ads for similar scams. The campaigns also ran for very short periods, between 10 to 19 hours. This shows that the user was trying to avoid detection by Meta.

A similar advertisement pattern can be observed in the case of another user ‘Dhan Yojana’.

The audience of the advertisement

Based on the ad delivery data of 10 such advertisements, the audience reached was overwhelmingly male, with men forming 70 to 80 per cent of viewers. Of these, the age groups 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 were targeted by the ad.

Geographically, the ads were heavily concentrated in Bihar. The state accounted for the largest share of impressions at about 25 per cent, followed by Uttar Pradesh (13 per cent), Maharashtra (10 per cent).

How to keep safe from UPI scams?

This is a reward-based scam executed using UPI, where, instead of receiving money, it will be sent to the scammer’s account. The viral Facebook Ad is a clickbait which leads you to a scam website that tries to dupe users into sending them money through UPI.

If the browser flags the webpage as a ‘Dangerous Site’, it is best to keep out of it. However, depending on various factors, it may take several hours to days for the warning to kick in. In that case, before trusting any website, check the URL carefully, avoid domains that look suspicious or unusual. Look for HTTPS security, spelling errors and fake logos.

It is not required to enter the UPI PIN to receive money. If a link opens the UPI app and shows a payment screen, it's a payment scam. Close the app immediately.

In case you have been a victim of a UPI payment scam, inform your bank immediately. Report the fraud to the local police station and register a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Reporting portal, either on the phone (Dial 1930 for the helpline) or via their website.

We advise our readers not to click on any posts on social media claiming to send money. In the past, NewsMeter debunked payment scams, and you can read the reports here and here.

The scammer has spent over Rs 75,000 to promote multiple advertisements on Meta in a span of 5 days. This indicates that such reward-based scams are indeed working in the favour of the scammer, who is able to launch multiple such campaigns.

NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is false. The viral Facebook Ads are clickbait, leading to a website using a deep link-based UPI money scam.