Scam Alert! Scam website collecting data posing as free charge from Mukesh Ambani on son’s wedding
NewsMeter found that the message was fake. No such offer has been given by Jio, Ambani Ambani-owned telecommunications company.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 10 March 2024 8:47 AM GMT
Hyderabad: The pre-wedding festivities of Reliance Industries MD and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s son, Anant Ambani, in Gujarat’s Jamnagar grabbed eyeballs worldwide. The celebration was attended by an array of high-profile guests from around the globe, including Bollywood, Hollywood celebrities, cricketers, state heads and billionaires like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.
In this light, a message is doing rounds on social media claiming that Mukesh Ambani is offering three months of free Reliance recharge on his son Anant’s wedding. The message also included a link to find the recharge.
“On the occasion of Anant Ambani’s marriage on July 12, Mukesh Ambani is giving a 3-month free recharge of Rs 749 across India. So now recharge your number by clicking on the blue link below, (translated from Hindi)” read the message.
We also found the message posted by multiple Facebook users and it was also circulated within WhatsApp groups. Click here and here to see the posts.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the message was fake. No such offer has been given by Jio, Ambani Ambani-owned telecommunications company.
We ran a keyword search for Mukesh Ambani offering free phone recharge for his son’s wedding but did not find any credible news reports about such a special offer. Next, we checked the official website of Jio but did not find any such offer listed. We also checked the company’s social media handles (Reliance Jio and JioCare) but did not find any such announcement.
How to check if a website is fake?
The URL in the message led us to a website claiming to provide a free recharge offer titled ‘Ananat Amabni pre-wedding offer 2024’. However, this is Jio’s official website.
We also found in the comments the names of people who availed recharge. This looked similar to content found on scam sites. The website also asked for the mobile number of the visitors and then asked them to share the message in five WhatsApp groups or ten friends.
Finally, we ran the URL on the fraud prevention resource, Scam Detector, which gave it a low rating and marked it ‘highly suspicious’.
“This website is poorly designed and doesn’t contain elements in the metadata that could help its online presence. As a result, it loses credibility and shows that its quality is questionable momentarily,” read the Sacam Detector’s report, marking the domain ‘Young and Unsafe.’ The Scam Detector’s algorithm gives the website 3.5/100.
Hence, we conclude that the viral message of Mukesh Ambani offering free recharge for three months is fake. The URL along the message leads to a scam website collecting the personal data of visitors.
