#Fact Check: Old Photo Misused to Claim Israeli Helicopter Downed in Lebanon!
Executive Summary
A viral image claims that an Israeli helicopter shot down in South Lebanon. This investigation evaluates the possible authenticity of the picture, concluding that it was an old photograph, taken out of context for a more modern setting.
Claims
The viral image circulating online claims to depict an Israeli helicopter recently shot down in South Lebanon during the ongoing conflict between Israel and militant groups in the region.
Factcheck:
Upon Reverse Image Searching, we found a post from 2019 on Arab48.com with the exact viral picture.
Thus, reverse image searches led fact-checkers to the original source of the image, thus putting an end to the false claim.
There are no official reports from the main news agencies and the Israeli Defense Forces that confirm a helicopter shot down in southern Lebanon during the current hostilities.
Conclusion
Cyber Peace Research Team has concluded that the viral image claiming an Israeli helicopter shot down in South Lebanon is misleading and has no relevance to the ongoing news. It is an old photograph which has been widely shared using a different context, fueling the conflict. It is advised to verify claims from credible sources and not spread false narratives.
- Claim: Israeli helicopter recently shot down in South Lebanon
- Claimed On: Facebook
- Fact Check: Misleading, Original Image found by Google Reverse Image Search
Related Blogs
Executive Summary
A video is being widely shared on social media with the claim that a person attempted to set a Thar vehicle on fire during the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar. CyberPeace Research Wing’s research found that the viral video is not from Jantar Mantar, Delhi. The footage is from Gaya, Bihar, where some people allegedly attempted to set a vehicle on fire after a collision involving a Thar and other vehicles on July 16.
Claim:
A 23-second video is being shared on Facebook claiming to show a person attempting to set a Thar vehicle on fire during the ongoing NEET paper leak protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. In the video, a man can be seen trying to ignite the vehicle, while police personnel intervene and stop him. However, the crowd continues to attempt to set the vehicle on fire.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1575765261002644
Fact Check:
To verify the claim, we extracted keyframes from the viral video and conducted a reverse image search. During the research, we found the same video uploaded on the News18 YouTube channel on July 18, 2026. The caption accompanying the video identified the incident as being from Bihar.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fzAPajxyi3A
Further, a keyword search led us to a report published by Dainik Bhaskar on July 16, 2026. The report contained visuals matching the viral video, along with the statement of the person seen in the viral footage.
According to the report, the incident took place in Gaya, Bihar, after a collision between a Thar vehicle and other vehicles. Following the accident, some people gathered at the spot and allegedly attempted to set the vehicle on fire.
Conclusion:
CyberPeace Research Wing’s fact check found the viral claim to be misleading. The video does not show an incident from the ongoing Jantar Mantar protest in Delhi. The footage is from Gaya, Bihar, where a Thar vehicle was involved in a collision with other vehicles on July 16, following which some people attempted to set the vehicle on fire.
Introduction
There has been a recent surge of misinformation all over social media, claiming that every Indian ought to receive an allowance of ₹2,000 under some "Prime Minister's scheme." The message, which has been circulated far and wide on almost all platforms-WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, etc.-has urged users to click on an unfamiliar link to claim the allowance in their bank accounts.
It would seem like a very attractive offer, especially at a time when common citizens are coping with rising costs of living. But upon further examination, it turns out to be an outright online scam. NewsMobile fact-checked the claim and confirmed that no such scheme exists. Thus, the message circulating is a scam that aims to mislead common citizens.
Such an incident is not isolated. Over the years, fraudulent posts falsely offering benefits in the name of the government or well-known brands have been on the rise. These scams are not just about misinformation-they take advantage of trust, lure people into clicking, and sharing personal info that poses serious risks to financial and personal security.
Anatomy of the Viral PM Scheme Scam
The viral message received attention and was written in Hindi. It read:
“सभी नागरिकों को PM योजना के तहत दो हज़ार रुपए का भत्ता प्रदान किया गया है अपने bank खाते में प्राप्त करने के लिए click करें."
(English: “All citizens have been provided an allowance of ₹2000 under the PM scheme. Click to receive it in your bank account.”)
Beneath this was an odd link that, upon clicking through investigation, turned out to be not working and invalid. An examination of government sites, official handle accounts, and other such was done and no announcement for any such allowance was found.
This provides a neat explanation of a phishing attempt by which a scammer induces urgency and temptation in order to lure citizens into clicking a malicious link. While the link may no longer be active, it could very well have once redirected users to websites that harvest personal information such as Aadhaar numbers, bank details, or login credentials.
The Broader Problem: Fake Government Scheme Scams
Some scams have been exploiting the hoax gimmick of the ₹2,000 PM scheme into the wider trend. How do the con men work? They leverage the credibility of governmental initiatives to scam citizens. In the past, fake promises were made concerning free gas cylinders, cash allowances, subsidised rations, or even job opportunities.
During the COVID times, for instance, fake vaccination registration links and so-called relief scheme offers went viral, preying on the fears and vulnerabilities of ill-informed citizens. Likewise, false schemes associated with reputed companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, TATA Group, and Hermès have also gone viral, promising free gifts or allowances.
The one thing that makes scams associated with the government very dangerous is the exploitation of people's trust in authority. The common citizen is predisposed to believe the PM scheme or the Government Yojana because of the social credibility accorded to these announcements.
How These Scams Operate
These are scams where the creators intend deception and in the end, gain from defrauding a person. Fraudsters first create clickbait messages that are duly recorded to resemble official communications and often bear the government logos and bear a mix of Hindi-English text with the phrase "Pradhan Mantri Yojana" to make it sound legitimate. The messages then redirect users to bogus websites that really look very much like the government's portals, asking sick persons to enter personal information. Finally, as soon as they have obtained this data, the scammer uses it for identity theft, bank fraud, or sells it on the dark web. Social engineering does play a large role in these scams: here terms of urgency like limited time, last chance, and whatnot get created with the aim of pushing the targets to act on these without thinking. For maximum reach, victims are also asked to forward the message to their friends and family, causing the scammer to go viral across WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram.
Risks to Citizens
Risks are serious and manifold to falling prey to these scams. The immediate kind of risk is financial loss: divulging bank account details, an OTP, or credentials may constitute providing attackers the power to drain funds therefrom. Another prevalent kind of identity theft occurs through hijacked Aadhaar, PAN, or personal information that subsequently finds its way into fake loans or SIM activations. Apart from monetary losses, opening malicious links might also make devices infected with spyware or ransomware, thereby invading privacy and security. Victims tend to experience a form of psychological trauma due to feelings of betrayal or humiliation of being deceived, thus discouraging them from reporting, which in turn enables such scams to go undetected.
Best Practices for Prevention
It is prudent to exercise good cyber hygiene and be on the lookout for such scams. The citizens should verify each statement against government-authorised websites like https://www.mygov.in or through press statements of the ministries prior to believing it. One should not click on suspicious links offering money, gifts, or subsidies. Red flags like poor grammar, an unofficial domain name, or too-good-to-be-true offers can enable one to identify the scam in time. Two-factor authentication, antivirus software updates, and securing devices can drastically lower the threat from the technical angle. Equally important is the reporting of issues: always report any suspicious activities to cybercrime.gov.in or to the nearest cyber cell so that the authorities may trace some pattern and issue advisories accordingly. Finally, one can do some good by sharing verified fact checks within their circles to build added strength against misinformation and scams.
Policy and Community Role
While individual awareness is important, collective action must be taken against these fake government scheme scams. Platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and X (Twitter) must tune up fraudsters' message detection mechanisms. In the meantime, Government Bodies must alert citizens periodically on new scams through their official handles/schemes and through community outreach.
Civil society and fact-checking agencies play an important role in dispelling frequently viral hoaxes. This work must be amplified to reach people's consciousness in regional languages for the very reason that in these terrain zones, forwarded messages are much more trusted.
Conclusion
The viral ₹2,000 PM scheme scam is a reminder that everything that is viral online cannot be trusted in toto. The scammers of the day are inventing newer scams to gain trust, spread misinformation, and extort innocent citizens.
The best defence will be awareness and alertness. Citizens must verify any claims through official channels before clicking on a link, sharing their data, or even acting upon it in any way. With proper cyber hygiene and avoiding suspicious messages, we can counterattack by reducing the percentage of impact that these scams may have and collaboratively build a secure digital environment.
As India pushes itself further into a digital ecosystem, both empowering and being resilient to cyber fraud is not a state of individual security, but a national agenda.
References
- https://www.newsmobile.in/nm-fact-checker/fact-check-viral-post-claiming-pm-scheme-offering-rs-2000-allowance-is-a-scam/
- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/financial-literacy/investing/beware-of-deepfake-scams-fraudsters-using-ai-videos-to-push-schemes-promising-unrealistic-returns-red-flags-to-watch-out-for/articleshow/124085155.cms
- https://www.business-standard.com/finance/personal-finance/invest-rs-21-000-to-earn-rs-20-lakh-monthly-viral-videos-of-fm-are-fake-125082000517_1.html
- https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2124728
Introduction:
Cybercriminals can hack your phone using or exploiting some public charging stations such as at airports, Malls, hotel rooms, etc. When you plug in your phone or laptop devices into a power charger using USB, you may be plugging into a hacker. Juice jacking poses a security threat at public charging stations at airports, shopping malls and other public places that provide free charging stations for mobile, tablet, and laptop devices.
Cybercriminals can either hack into the public charging spot or download malware or viruses through the USB port into your system. When you plug your phone, laptop, tablet or other such devices for charging at public charging stations, it can download malware to your phone and other such devices, and then hackers can access your personal information or passwords, It is really a problem since hackers can even get access to your bank account for unauthorised transactions by accessing your passwords and personal information.
Hence it is important to think twice before using public charging spots, as it might lead to serious consequences such as malware, data leak and hacking. Hacking can gain unauthorised access to your personal information by installing malware in your device and they might monitor your device by installing monitor software or spyware to your device. This scam is referred to as juice jacking.
FBI issued an advisory warning about using public charging stations:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), In May 2023, advised users to avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels, or shopping centres. The warning comes as threat actors have figured out ways to inject malware into devices attached to publicly installed USB ports.
Updated Security measures:
We all must have seen public charging points such as airports, shopping malls, metro, and other public places that provide charging stations for mobile devices. But it can be a threat to your stored data on your device. During the charging process, your data can be transferred which can ultimately lead to a data breach. Hence utmost care should be taken to protect your information and data. iPhones and other devices have security measures in place, When you plug your phone into a charging power source, a pop-up appears to ask permission to allow or disallow the transfer of Data. There is also a default setting in the phones where data transfer is disabled. In the latest models, when you plug your device into a new port or a computer, a pop-up appears asking whether the device is trusted or not.
Two major risks involved in the threat of Juice jacking:
- Malware installation: – Malware apps can be used by bad actors to clone your phone data to their device, Your personal data is transferred leading to a data breach. Some types of malware include Trojans, adware, spyware, crypto-miners, etc. Once this malware is injected into your device, It is easy for cybercriminals to extort a ransom to restore the information they have unauthorized access to.
- Data Theft: It is important to give emphasis to the question of whether your data is protected at public charging stations? When we use a USB cable and connect to a public charging station port, cyber-criminals by injecting malware into the charging port system, can inject the malware into your device or your data can be transferred to the bad actors. USB cords can be exploited by cybercriminals to commit malicious activities.
Best practices:
- Avoid using public charging stations: Using public charging stations is not safe. It is very possible for a cybercriminal to load malware into a charging station with a USB cord. Hence It is advisable not to use public charging spots, try to make sure you charge your phone, and laptop devices in your car, at home or office so it will help you to avoid public charging stations.
- Alternative method of charging: You can carry a power bank along with you to avoid the use of public charging stations.
- Lock your phone: Lock your phone once connected to the charging port. Locking your device once connected to the charging station will prevent it from being able to sync or transfer data.
- Software update: It is important to enable and use your device’s software security measures. Mobile devices have certain technical protections against such vulnerabilities and security threats.
- Review Settings: Disable your device’s option to automatically transfer data when a charging cable is connected. This is the default on iOS devices. Android users should disable this option in the Settings app. If your device displays a prompt asking you to “trust this computer,” it means you are connected to another device, not simply a power outlet. Deny the permission, as trusting the computer will enable data transfers to and from your device. So when you plug your device into a USB port and a prompt appears asking permission to "share data" or “trust this computer” or “charge only,” always select “charge only.”
Conclusion:
Cybercriminals or bad actors exploit public charging stations. There have been incidents where malware was planted in the system by the use of a USB cord, During the charging process, the USB cord opens a path into your device that a cybercriminal can exploit, which means the devices can exchange data. That's called juice jacking. Hence avoid using public charging stations, our safety is in our hands and it is significantly important to give priority to best practices and stay protected in the evolving digital landscape.
References:
- https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/fbi-issue-warning-about-juice-jacking-when-using-free-cell-phone-charging-kiosks/
- https://www.comparitech.com/blog/information-security/juice-jacking/#:~:text=Avoid%20public%20charging%20stations,guaranteed%20success%20with%20this%20method
- https://www.fcc.gov/juice-jacking-tips-to-avoid-it
