14 DAY TRIAL // Scam artists are once again using Facebook to spread their fake messages, this time relying on small children that will allegedly get a free heart surgery if the post is shared by 100 individuals.
Hoax Slayer informs us that the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, the medical institution mentioned in the hoax, actually offers free care for children and adults, but they don't require any shares from Facebook members in order to do this.
This is just one of those schemes in which nothing is gained by anyone. A lot of walls get spammed but no child will benefit from that.
The plot has multiple variants, most of them showing pictures of suffering youths to make the whole thing more realistic.
“Plz share...Heat surgery free of cost for children (0-10 Yrs) Ph : 080-28411500 It might save some1's life...! Sharing takes a second......in bangalore INDIA. More than likes, sharing can help!” reads one of the versions.
This might be one of the more dangerous ones as the phone numbers listed in such ads can always hide a malevolent operation. By calling the number, unsuspecting internauts can be redirected to premium rate numbers or they might be faced with a person that will try to obtain as much private information as possible on the caller.
The data can later be used to commit identity fraud, this being one of the preferred methods of cybercrooks to launch such operations.
The photograph that joins the alert is taken from a 2008 article and it has nothing to do with the facility in India.
Beware of such scams! Warn all your friends and assure them that no one can benefit from these hoaxes except for those who post them. If by accident you already shared the message, make sure to remove it from your wall before anyone else falls for it.