Scam Facebook page tricks users into giving personal details with claim of 'lost luggage sale'
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on December 18, 2023 at 04:37
- 5 min read
- By Lucille SODIPE, AFP Philippines
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A Facebook page named "Ninoy Aquino Airport" -- a reference to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila -- shared an image of suitcases at an airport on November 23.
"Ninoy Aquino Airport is selling lost luggage," the caption of the post reads. "Lost luggage stored for more than 6 months must be disposed of, but we have decided to have a sale and are selling a suitcase for just ₱556.54."
The caption goes on to read: "Take part in the survey, fill in your details and get delivery."
It claims the suitcases contain phones, laptops and jewellery.
The Philippines' largest airport was once derided as the world's worst. Travellers have long criticised its "dilapidated facilities", dishonest airport workers, rude officials and long waiting times, AFP reported.
Power outages and reports of security officers stealing and extorting money from passengers continue to hound the Manila airport this year.
Similar posts published here, here and here also advertised the purported luggage sale, sharing different images of multiple baggage in an airport.
While the airport auctions off some of the items lost by passengers, a representative from the airport's operator -- the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) -- told AFP the pictures do not show part of the process. The page was in fact not the genuine Facebook page for the airport.
Sold by auction
The representative told AFP via phone that while airlines are responsible for handling luggage left behind inside an aircraft or the baggage carousel, those left unattended in all other areas in the airport terminal "was under MIAA's jurisdiction".
The MIAA warned the public on November 23 against claims being shared on Facebook about the sale of lost luggage, adding that the MIAA has clear and established protocols for "safekeeping and disposal of lost or left behind items" (archived link).
The spokesperson has provided AFP with official MIAA guidelines on the procedures for handling different lost items.
According to the guidelines, the MIAA turns over items such as firearms, drugs and travel documents found in the lost luggage to the relevant government departments, while others such as toys, clothing and shoes are donated to charity after they are kept for six months.
Valuable items such as jewellery, mobile phones and laptops are put up for auction after the same retention period, while cash will be forfeited and deposited to the MIAA's account. Suitcases, or the luggage itself, are also auctioned off.
Fake Facebook page
The fake Facebook page that shared the false post was created on November 23 and has less than 100 followers, while the official airport's Facebook page was created in 2011 and has amassed over 400,000 followers (archived link).
The MIAA has also given the username of its official Facebook page as "MIAAGovPH" in a statement published on its website, while the fake page does not have a username (archived link).
Lost items, meanwhile, are posted in this Facebook page called "NAIA Lost and Found Section." MIAA puts a caveat in each post that items will be disposed of if not recovered after six months (archived link).
Moreover, a reverse image search using the TinEye tool found the posts used doctored images.
The photo showing suitcases was taken in 2019 at the Düsseldorf airport in Germany by Sascha Steinbach for the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) (archived link).
Its caption reads: "Hundreds of suitcases are left in the check-in area of the international airport in Duesseldorf, Germany, 17 July 2019. A technical malfunction in baggage handling meant numerous travellers had to leave their suitcases at Duesseldorf Airport on 17 July."
It was also published by news outlet The Guardian (archived link).
The image in the false posts was edited to add the price of the luggage and the name "Ninoy Aquino Airport". Below is a comparison of the photo as seen on the fake Facebook page (left) and on the EPA website (right):
The image which shows a woman surrounded by suitcases was originally published by the Los Angeles Times in December 2022 (archived link).
The photo, captured by Irfan Khan, actually shows a woman named Amanda Gevorgyan scowling as she "tries to find her luggage inside the Southwest terminal at Los Angeles International Airport" during mass cancellations of flights by US-based Southwest Airlines at the time. It was edited to make it appear that she was smiling.
Below is a comparison of the photo as seen on the fake Facebook page (left) and on the Los Angeles Times website (right):
The third photo was published in January 2023 by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and photographed by Ben Nelms (archived link).
It is part of an article headlined "What to do if your baggage was lost in the chaos at Vancouver International Airport?"
The caption to the image reads: "Luggage and bags as far as the eye can see at Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 21, 2022, after multiple delays and cancellations."
Below is a comparison of the photo as seen on the fake Facebook page (left) and the picture as seen on the CBC website (right):
AFP Fact Check debunked similar claims before here and here.
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