The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has not announced any gift card on their 65th anniversary – FactCrescendo | The leading fact-checking website in India

The Indian Oil Corporation Limited has not announced any prize money or free fuel on the occasion of their 65^th Anniversary.

A viral post circulating on social media claims that the Indian Oil Corporation Limited has announced to giveaway a gift card worth Rs 6000 or free fuel to their customers on the occasion of their 65^th anniversary. This message is widely circulating on all social media platforms. Fact Crescendo received this message on our WhatsApp Factline number 9049053770 for verification.

The message is circulating with a link that states ‘Indian Oil 65th Anniversary Free Fuel.”

Facebook Post 

Fact Check- 

We started our investigation by running a keyword search on Google, whose results led to the Facebook Page of Indian Oil Corporation Limited. A clarification posted on 18th January 2023 states that “#Alert: Beware of fake contests claiming to be from #IndianOil. All official contests/announcements will only be posted on our official website & verified social media accounts. Do not provide personal info to unverified sources. Stay vigilant, stay safe.” They have clearly called out the viral post on social media as fake.

Next, Fact Crescendo reached out to the President of the Cyber Crime Advisor to the Indian Police and cyber crime analyst, Kislay Choudhury. He told us that no such offer has been announced by the Indian Oil Corporation. It is unsafe to click on any unknown link to claim such offers. Such links often collect users’ personal information which might later be misused.”

We found Kolkata Police and Rachakonda Police Commissionerate also posted a clarification on their social media handles stating that the viral link is Fake. Kolkata Police mentioned that this is a fake link that has been circulating on WhatsApp since June 2022. It is now being actively circulated again in January 2023. Please stay alert.”

Next, we clicked on the link that showed the following message, “Indian Oil 65th Anniversary Free Fuel! Through the questionnaire, you will have a chance to get 6000 Rupee.” Upon filling the questionnaire, the website shows that the user had won Rs 6000 and asks to forward the message to 20 users on WhatsApp and fill in the personal address where the amount will be delivered. Following the process it leads us to the App store on Google Play Store. This link seems like a clickbait link asking for personal information which might be misused later on.

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral post to be False. Do not believe on such Fake gift cards and share OTPs or personal information. The Indian Oil Corporation Limited has not announced any prize money or free fuel on the occasion of their 65^th Anniversary.

Title:The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has not announced any gift card on their 65th anniversary

Fact Check By: Drabanti Ghosh 

Result: False