Link to bogus Pakistani welfare scheme website spreads online

A government welfare scheme launched under Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan's term ended in 2022, a federal official told AFP. Posts claiming Pakistanis can still register for the programme link to an impostor site that harvests users' personal details.

"More than 960,000 people will be given 20,000 rupees each for their well-being. The application process has started, and those who have applied are getting 20,000 rupees through the Ehsaas Ration Programme," reads an Urdu-language caption Facebook post published on March 15.

It also shares a graphic with text that reads, "The objective of this programme is to provide financial assistance to poor families."

The post says applicants can register through a link, which takes them to a page that asks for their name, and education and income level.

Former prime minister Imran Khan launched the Ehsaas scheme in March 2019 as part of the federal Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) that provides financial aid to impoverished residents (archived link).

The same claim spread elsewhere on Facebook, but a federal government official told AFP on April 25 that the scheme ended in 2022.

All other posts asking the public to sign up for grants are "fake," the official went on to say.

The BISP published a video on March 26 saying that those eligible for other welfare schemes under the programme are signed up through a survey conducted every two years (archived link).

It does not mention registration through a website.

Moreover, the BISP programme's website uses the "gov.pk" domain. But the link in the false posts is hosted on a URL that ends in .buzz (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to other bogus government websites.