Fact Check: SBI not conducting survey or giving Rs. 5L as gift; viral link is fake

The link can be viewed here. https://sxceod.shop/?app=sbi#

Fact Check:

NewsMeter found that the link is fake and no such online survey is being conducted and neither is SBI giving away cash gifts.

We checked the official SBI website to find out whether it is conducting an online survey or holding any contest to gift Rs. 5 lakh. We could not find any details of such contest on the bank's official website. We also observed that the official website is different from the one that is conducting the survey. About Us - About Us (sbi.co.in)

Also, if SBI was conducting such a survey, many media organizations would have reported it. We found no articles on the Internet.

When we did a keyword search on Twitter, we found that a Twitter user had tagged the SBI official account to ask whether the link is real. SBI had responded that it neither runs nor endorses any such gifts/lottery schemes and advised users to not click on such links or share any banking details.

When we clicked on the link, it directed us to a website that did not look like the official SBI website. The website asked users to complete the questionnaires in order to win the cash prize. Later, the user is given three chances to select the gift. We observed that users win the cash in the second attempt. Such a similar pattern has been noticed in many fake websites with fake links.

Once a user wins the prize, s/he is asked to share the link to any five or 20 WhatsApp friends to claim the prize. It also asks the user to provide their personal and financial details. Scams like these take the information of users and hack their devices. It connects the link to the IP address and is a common method of hacking and stealing information.

Hence, the viral link is a hoax.

NewsMeter advises you to stay alert and not click on such links.