Student Cash Incentive Program Linked to 5kg Rice Distribution Found to Be AI-Generated Report

Philippine authorities are warning the public about a viral Facebook scam falsely promising cash and rice incentives to students, as digital fraud targeting vulnerable families continues to proliferate across social media platforms.

A deceptive Facebook reel that has gone viral claims parents can register their children to receive cash incentives of ₱3,500 (approximately $62) for elementary students and ₱7,500 (about $133) for high school students, along with 5 kilograms of rice. The video, which has amassed over 2.4 million views in just one day, was posted by a page called “Ph News Today” and has generated thousands of reactions, comments, and shares.

The sophisticated scam is particularly concerning as many commenters indicated they had already clicked through to register their children, hoping to secure financial assistance amid rising costs of education in the Philippines.

Digital forensics analysis confirmed the video is AI-generated. Two independent AI-detection tools—Sightengine and Hive Moderation—flagged the content as artificially created with confidence ratings of 88% and 65% respectively. The video contains a partially visible “Veo” watermark, indicating it was created using Google’s text-to-video AI generator, though this disclosure was deliberately obscured by an overlaid logo reading “Philippine News Today.”

The fraudulent post included four shortened links, presented as registration portals for different student classifications. Cybersecurity experts who analyzed the links found that three redirect visitors to a suspicious blogging site requesting personal information before prompting users to click additional links based on their location—a classic phishing technique designed to harvest sensitive data. The fourth link diverts to an unrelated Shopee e-commerce page, likely to create an illusion of legitimacy.

This scam emerges amid economic challenges facing many Filipino families, particularly as the new school year approaches. The promised amounts—₱3,500 for elementary students and ₱7,500 for high school students—were likely calibrated to seem plausible enough to entice clicks while substantial enough to motivate immediate action from financially-strained parents.

The Department of Education has repeatedly warned about the proliferation of such schemes, noting that genuine government assistance programs are never distributed through random social media links or require registration via unauthorized channels.

This isn’t the first such scam to circulate on Philippine social media. Fact-checking organization Rappler has previously debunked similar false claims about student incentive programs, including posts promising monthly cash and rice aid. These scams typically follow a pattern: they impersonate legitimate news outlets or government agencies, use AI to create convincing content, and exploit public desire for financial relief.

Cybersecurity experts advise Filipino social media users to verify information through official government websites and channels before providing personal information online. They recommend scrutinizing unusual watermarks, checking for website security indicators, and being skeptical of offers that seem too good to be true.

As AI-generated content becomes increasingly sophisticated and accessible, distinguishing between legitimate information and scams poses a growing challenge for internet users. The incident highlights the need for enhanced digital literacy education and more robust platform policies to prevent the spread of AI-enabled fraud targeting vulnerable populations.

Authorities urge anyone who has shared personal information through suspicious links to monitor their accounts for unusual activity and report fraudulent content to platform administrators.