Reliance Jio and Facebook deal valued at Rs 43,574 crore, which is the largest FDI in India's tech sector, has put both companies under spotlight. That has also given hackers a new way to trick users. In light of this multi-crore deal, a viral message has been making the rounds promising Jio users 25GB 4G data every day for 6 months. You heard that right!
25GB daily for 6 months
Isn't it too good to be true? Well, some are falling for this old trick in the book as hackers attempt to infect devices with malware. The viral message reads, "Good News! Jio and Facebook are giving 25GB Data Daily for 6 months to all Jio users due to the lockout of COVID-19. Download this app now."
When the user clicks on the link in the message, it will redirect to a fake site impersonating Jio's official website. Users will then be asked to enter the phone number and then an advertisement page pops up on the screen.
Fact-check
Firstly, 25GB data daily for 6 months is unreal. There was a time when Reliance Jio used to offer free data at the time it had just launched in India. Even then, the telco did not offer 25GB data every day for 6 months. So that's the biggest give-away to the fact this message is fake.
Secondly, even if the offer was not as ridiculous, the requirement to download an app to avail of any offer should raise a red flag.
Finally, the advertisement screen that pops up on the screen doesn't go away until the user clicks on it. In doing so, users expose the device to malware. This is exactly the reason why users must refrain from forwarding such hoax messages to others or clicking suspicious links.
