Fact-Check: TRAI Is NOT Offering Free Recharge; Viral Message Is a Scam!

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting also clarified that this viral link is a scam and fake news.

Fact-check: TRAI is not offering free recharge, the viral post is false and the link is a scam.

(Photo: The Quint)

A link and a screenshot seemingly to be from an Indian government website is going viral on social media to claim that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is offering a free mobile recharge to people.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: The link mentioned in the claim is a fraudulent website.

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting also clarified that this viral link is a scam and this claim is fake.

How did we find out the truth?: We noticed that the website link mentioned in the claims did not led us to the official website of TRAI not did it carry any specific details of prepaid recharge.

• We then checked TRAI's official website to see if there was any similar notice but did not find any.

• Moreover, TRAI cannot provide free recharges for any prepaid plan as it is not a telecom company. Its function is to regulate telecom services, including fixing/revising tariffs.

Further, we found a clarification from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, who stated that this claim is fake and the link used in the claim is a scam.

More about the link: We checked the domain of the viral link and it was recently registered in China in July 2024.

This link's registrar is West263 International Limited.

(Source: Whois.com/Screenshot)

• Another link seen in some viral images also links to China and is being shared with same claim.

• The domain of these links suggests that it is not genuine, and no mention of TRAI or the National Informatics Centre (NIC) (registrar of TRAI) was found here.

This link's registrar is the same as above.

(Source: Whois.com/Screenshot)

Conclusion: TRAI is not offering free recharge, the viral post is false and the link is a scam.

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