Fake 'Philippine Airlines promo' a ruse to collect credit card details

"The Antimonopoly Committee obliged Philippine Airlines to sell part of its air tickets at a low price," claimed part of a Facebook post shared on February 28, 2024.

"In this regard, the company organized a promotion -- a Philippine Airlines certificate for 6 months of free flights for only 168 pesos (3 dollars)."

The post's accompanying image shows the cabin of a passenger plane with someone holding what appears to be a "card for 6 free flight (sic)". 

The claim surfaced after authorities announced an increase in fuel surcharge fees that airlines could add to the base fare (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on February 29, 2024

An "Apply Now"  button can be found under the post. It directs users to a page asking for credit card information for a charge of 112 pesos.

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Screenshot of the website asking for users’ credit card information

Another post on the same page here offers the same purported deal, claiming Philippine Airlines was offering the promotion because there was "a lack of passengers on its flights".

A similar claim was shared on another Facebook page here and here, which said the airline was offering six flights for 168 pesos.

Multiple comments from recently created Facebook accounts give the impression the supposed promotion is genuine.

"I was waiting for deception, but now I travel every weekend," read one comment.

"Thank you very much for the card, I received it literally 10 minutes ago. This weekend we are already flying with a friend to Rome," read another, despite Philippine Airlines not having direct flights to Rome as of March 4 (archived link).

'Bogus' promotion

Philippine Airlines said in a statement posted on Facebook on February 14 that pages announcing the supposed promotion were "bogus" (archived link). 

"Unscrupulous individuals have created bogus Facebook sites announcing a PHP168 flight promo," the statement says in part. "Please do not engage with these fake sites as doing so will compromise your personal data."

Genuine flight promos are announced on the official Philippine Airlines website and their Facebook page, the airline added (archived links here and here).

Moreover, there is no public record of a legal authority named the "Antimonopoly Committee" in the Philippines.

The agency that regulates anti-competitive behaviour is called the Philippine Competition Commission (archived link).

Keyword searches on the website of the commission did not find any order for Philippine Airlines to sell tickets at a low price.

Google reverse image searches found the images in the false posts had been altered to include a "6 free flight" card. The picture of the aeroplane cabin was published in a review of the business class section of a Philippine Airlines flight to Toronto (archived link). 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the altered image in one of the false posts (left) and the photo from the flight review (right): 

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Screenshot comparison of the altered image in one of the false posts (left) and the photo from the flight review (right)

The purported "free flight" card closely resembles a "Mabuhay Miles" card, the rewards system for frequent flying customers of Philippine Airlines (archived link). 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the card seen in the false posts (left) and a "Mabuhay Miles" frequent flyer card (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the false flight card (left) and the airline's "Mabuhay Miles" card (right)

Philippine news organisation Rappler has also debunked the posts.

AFP has previously debunked a similar scam offering "free subway rides" in the capital Manila.