Meta yesterday released a Facebook reel warning users about phishing scams disguised as official announcements related to Taiwan's upcoming NT$10,000 (US$323) cash handout program.
Created in collaboration with Taiwanese fact-checking organization MyGoPen, the short video urged people not to click on suspicious links, share personal data, mail ATM cards or financial documents, or forward unverified messages and social media posts.
The reel showed examples of text messages and emails linking to fake government websites that ask people to provide personal information to "register" or "collect" the handout before registration for it officially begins next Wednesday.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
The government will not use text messages or emails to issue announcements about the handout, nor will it request ATM transfers, the company said.
Meta also warned yesterday in a press release that scammers impersonating police officers may claim that someone has fraudulently collected a person's handout and ask that person for bank details, ATM cards, or passwords for investigative purposes.
After many months of political wrangling, Taiwan's government decided to distribute NT$10,000 to each citizen as well as foreign nationals who are permanent residents or spouses of Taiwanese citizens.
The policy has been touted as a way to inject vitality into the local economy that has seen strong AI-related export growth but otherwise stagnant economic activity and help consumers who have been hurt by rising prices and lackluster real wage growth.
MyGoPen founder Charles Yang (葉子揚) said in the press statement that many people were scammed during the government's 2021 stimulus voucher program that distributed vouchers worth NT$5,000.
This time, he said, fraudsters may use "more convincing and sophisticated methods" to exploit people's eagerness to claim the funds or their fear of losing them to identity thieves.
Official information about the NT$10,000 handout is available on the government's official website, where online registration will open beginning on Nov. 5.
People registering must enter a national health insurance card number, a national ID number or residence permit number, and a bank account number. The funds should enter applicants' accounts from about a week after registration, the government has said.
The NT$10,000 handout can also be collected without registering online, through ATMs starting on Nov. 17 and post offices starting on Nov. 24.
Aside from the latest Meta warning, the government has issued various warnings against fraud ahead of the handout's rollout.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS