A circular issued by the managing committee of a residential housing complex in Delhi warning residents about a gang of thieves posing as government officials trying to enter homes, is falsely viral claiming it is an order issued by the police and the government for all housing societies in the country.
BOOM visited the residential complex, Central Government Service Cooperative Land and Group Housing Society Limited located in West Delhi’s Vikaspuri and met the committee members who clarified that the circular was only issued for residents as an awareness initiative; it was not a government-issued order.
We also found that the contents of the letter is a longer version of an old hoax that has been viral since 2016 in several countries including Singapore, Malaysia, US, UK, South Africa and revived over the years.
The circular on the letterhead of the 'Central Government Service Cooperative Land and Group Housing Society' is dated March 26, 2024 and signed by SC Vohra. Titled "High alert to all flat/house owners, society safety alert try to safe", the letter claims that thieves have come up with a new way to enter houses by pretending to Ministry of Home Affairs employees conducting a survey under the Ayushman scheme.
The letter further claims that the thieves carry laptops and biometric machines and have data lists and ask people to enter their names. It warns people to not let any stranger into their house even if they show a government ID.
The circular is viral on Facebook, X and WhatsApp with captions claiming it is a circular issued by the local police department and the government.
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The same message without the letterhead is also viral on Facebook.
View post here and archive here
BOOM received the circular multiple times on our tipline number (+91 7700906111) by users requesting a verification.
FACT CHECK
BOOM found that the viral message is an old hoax that has been in circulation since 2016 with different versions of the same going viral each year.
We further visited the location, the housing complex mentioned in the letterhead 'Central Government Service Cooperative Land and Group Housing Society Limited' in Vikaspuri area of West Delhi and spoke to the managing committee of the building who clarified that they had the issued the circular only for internal circulation.
Rajesh Syal, vice president of the housing society committee, told BOOM, "This is not a notification from the government in any way." He added, “We had heard of cases of fraud by collecting biometric data in the name of Ayushman Bharat Yojana, so we issued this notice to alert the residents of our society."
We also noticed that the housing complex was called 'Vikas Kunj' and is not a government department or government housing complex. Syal further clarified that the Central Government Service Co-op Land and Group Housing complex was formed on July 12, 1968 is a co-operative society and not a government department or in anyway linked to the government.
Further, a keyword search for 'home affairs officer loot' as mentioned in the circular, did not show results for any news reports from India about any such victims of a scam or about any advisory issued by the government about the same. We also found that the letter itself had several errors with names of government departments changed and misspelt.
For example, the viral message refers to the Ministry of Home Affairs as Department of Home Affairs and spells the Ayushman Bharat health scheme as 'Ayushyaman' Bharat. Ayushman Bharat a government scheme that provides health insurance to over 40% of the population has been renamed as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
The message also mentions that the thieves will pose as government employees who are surveying people for the official census. It is important to note that the India government has not announced any official date for the census and that the last census results were declared in 2011.
We also found this hoax has been circulating for several years in several posts from 2016 to 2023. Versions of the same hoax have been viral in other countries including Malaysia, Singapore, USA, UK and South Africa
BOOM debunked a shorter version of the same in 2020 when it was viral as text message on Facebook and WhatsApp.