The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has warned the public against social media pages and groups spreading false information on the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
It advised the public, particularly SAP beneficiaries, to avoid giving their personal information to people who introduce themselves as personnel of financial service providers (FSPs) or the DSWD.
"Paalala sa publiko: ang Facebook pages na “Dswd Pantawid Funds”, “Philippine 50,000 Online Ayuda”, at ang Facebook group na “SECOND TRANCHE/DSWD/SAP/SAC/DOLE” ay hindi totoong pinahahawakan ng DSWD,” (Reminder to the public: the Facebook pages “Dswd Pantawid Funds”, “Philippine 50,000 Online Ayuda”, and the Facebook group “SECOND TRANCHE/DSWD/SAP/SAC/DOLE” are not official media accounts of the DSWD)," the DSWD said in an advisory posted on its official Facebook page.
"Pinapaalalahanan ng DSWD na huwag ibigay ang inyong personal na impormasyon sa mga nasabing Facebook pages at groups na nagpapanggap na mula sa ahensya upang hindi mapagsamantalahan ng mga indibidwal o grupong may pangsariling interes. Iwasan ang mga nasabing fake Facebook pages at groups na ito. Muli, huwag tangkilikin (The DSWD is reminding you not to give your personal information to these Facebook pages and groups that introduce themselves as agency personnel so that you will not be victimised by these individuals or groups who have personal interests. Avoid these Facebook pages and groups. Again, do not patronize them),” it added.
It was last May when the DSWD started warning the public against the proliferation of fake Facebook pages claiming to be part of the agency.
Last Wednesday, the DSWD issued a statement, cautioning the public against social media pages and groups that are posting and sharing fake information regarding the SAP.
"DSWD cautioned citizens that these pages and groups contain fake reports that aim to misinform the public or gather personal information which can be used by online scammers to perform theft,” it said.
"Instead, the Department advised the public, especially the SAP beneficiaries, to check their sources of online information and engage only with legitimate sources such as official government websites and social media pages with verification check marks, including the official DSWD Facebook page (https://web.facebook.com/dswdserves).”
The warning was issued anew by DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista during his virtual press briefing on August 13, In the wake of reported phishing scams targeting SAP recipients, the DSWD vowed to continuously issue advisories to alert the public on the proliferation of fake news on SAP.