Bogus government 'scholarship' posts lure Philippine users to dubious investment schemes

"Department of Education Scholarship 2024", read the text on an image posted on a Facebook group with over 150,000 members on April 1, 2024.

The false posts bore the photo of Vice President Sara Duterte and the logo of the Department of Education headed by her, and encouraged students on all grade levels to apply for a "scholarship" from between 5,000 to 10,000 pesos (80 to 170 dollars).

A similar post on a Facebook group with over 300,000 members similarly invited users to apply for "cash allowances" for their children.

Both posts included an identical Tagalog-language caption which said: "The first 2,000 people who will say (How) will be given 26,000 pesos."

The amount is equivalent to 460 dollars.

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Screengrab of one of the false posts.

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Screengrab of one of the false posts.

Similar posts were shared elsewhere on Facebook here and here -- prompting hundreds of users to follow the supposed instructions.

"How can I sign up for this? My kid is in Grade Four," one asked.

"Maam Sarah (sic) Duterte how can I join for my child who is in Grade Six," wrote another.

Underneath many of these comments, a response message from the original post author could be seen asking users to send a private message or join a channel on Telegram for further details. 

However, the Department of Education said in multiple statements issued on February 19, March 6 and March 18 that the posts were "illegally using" Duterte's photo and the logo of the agency to "scam people" (archived links here, here and here).

"Parents and guardians are strongly advised not to give out their children's school information and identification to these kinds of hideous posts so as not to compromise their security."

There was no trace of any such "scholarship" programme on the department's website or social media pages.

One of the Telegram channels linked to in the posts was named "BINANCE TRADING AND INVESTMENT".

It bore the logo of Binance, a firm that runs cryptocurrency exchanges and provides other services around the world.

Below is a screenshot of the Telegram channel:

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Screenshot of the Binance Telegram channel.

It was not clear if the Telegram channel was linked to Binance, but the firm was not authorised to offer investments in the Philippines, according to the archipelago's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Binance took a severe hit when crypto markets collapsed and regulators began probing the legality of its business.

"Those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents, representatives, promoters, recruiters, influencers, endorsers, and enablers of the BINANCE platform in selling or convincing people to invest in this platform within the Philippines even through online means may be held criminally liable," the SEC said in an advisory on November 28, 2023 (archived link).

Philippine fact-checking organisation Vera Files also debunked similar posts.