The fact-checking wing of the Public Information Bureau (PIB), the centre’s nodal agency, has issued a clarification related to a message claiming that the central government is offering a free mobile recharge of ₹239, which is valid for 28 days, to all users. As per the bureau, the message was circulated via WhatsApp. The message claimed that a user can get free recharge by clicking on the “blue link.”In a tweet, the bureau said, “A WhatsApp message claims that the central government is offering all users a recharge of ₹239 for 28 days under the ‘Free Mobile Recharge Scheme’”.The PIB Fact-Check team added, “This claim is fake. No such announcement has been made by the Government Of India”.The bureau has also shared a picture of the “fake” message. It read, “Under Free Mobile Recharge Scheme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, all Indian users have been promised to give free recharge of ₹239 for 28 days, so now recharge your number by clicking on the blue colour link below. I have done my 28 days free recharge with this. You can also get 28 days free recharge by clicking on the link given below (last date 30 March, 2023)”.The fact-check wing added, “The Government Of India is not offering free recharge.”#FraudAlertA #WhatsApp message claims that the central government is offering all users a recharge of ₹239 for 28 days under the ‘Free Mobile Recharge Scheme’ #PIBFactCheck:✔️This claim is #fake✔️No such announcement has been made by the Government Of India pic.twitter.com/AICm63ga8W— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 26, 2023Before this, the bureau issued an alert related to a message that claimed that the State Bank Of India “is asking recipients to update their PAN on a link to prevent their account from getting expired.”Sharing a picture of the message, the bureau wrote, “A #Fake message issued in the name of @TheOfficialSBI is asking recipients to update their PAN on a suspicious link to prevent their account from getting expired.”Urging all SBI customers, the fact-check team added, “Beware of such frauds. SBI never sends emails/SMS asking for personal/banking details.”A #Fake message issued in the name of @TheOfficialSBI is asking recipients to update their PAN on a suspicious link to prevent their account from getting expired.#PIBFactCheck✅ Beware of such frauds.✅ SBI never sends emails/SMS asking for personal/banking details. pic.twitter.com/1u8tFywQcf— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 24, 2023For those who are not aware, the last day to link a Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar is March 31, 2023. According to the income tax department, failure to do so will lead to the unlinked PAN becoming inoperative.
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