• Source:JND
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PRIME Minister Free Laptop Scheme 2023 Fraud: While this might come as bad news for some, the Indian government is not offering free laptops to students, opposite to what a widely circulated notice claims. The fraud circular attributed to the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, claims that the government of India is offering a Lenovo laptop, PIB Fact Check highlighted on Twitter.

NO! Government Is Not Giving Away Free Lenovo Laptops

In the letter, the poster claims the benefits of the scheme span across India and to all eligible students who enrolled in XI, XII and BA (1st to 6th semesters). A closer look at the text in the circular reveals grammatical anomalies and poor sentence formation, which signals its fake character.

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The fraud website mentioned in the poster urges an Indian to apply for this lucrative offer, submit the registration form and visit this website for more updates. However, do NOT visit the link, and avoid entering personal details such as bank credentials and ID proofs on this portal.

"No such scheme is being run by the @EduMinOfIndia, GOI," PIB Fact Check wrote on Twitter. 

In the poster, the fraudster falsely highlights a Lenovo laptop running on Intel Celeron Dual Core with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and the latest Windows 11 up for grabs.

Free Laptop Scam: How To Be Safe?

As the use of social media is escalating in the country at a rapid pace, such scams aimed at duping customers financially or by retrieving personal information are rising rapidly. Here are a few tips that you can adopt to avoid being a victim of such fake messages and scams.

- Check for grammatical errors like spelling, poor sentence formation, and more in the text

- Google search and find the official notification from the government or read media reports highlighting such a scheme

- Do not share personal ID, bank or other details

- Avoid clicking on links that promise lucrative rewards without thorough verification

- In case you get scammed, inform the relevant authorities such as the Cyber Crime department