Phishing Scam

Did prominent Americans like Elon Musk, Caitlin Clark, Stephen Colbert, and Joy Behar each pay down $667,000 of schoolkids' lunchroom debts? No, there's no evidence that's true: In the case of FBI Director Kash Patel, the gift was inflated to $979,000, which would be more than five times his FBI salary.The posts making the claims include no evidence by which…

Does a video authentically capture a smoke detector's "low battery" alarm beeping during U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett's speech? No, that's not true: The sound was added later. Original recordings from 2023 don't have such interference on the soundtrack. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on May 3, 2025, under the caption: 🤣😁😂🤟🏼💯 beep ☠️ In…

Is FedEx getting rid of all unclaimed packages after New Year's Eve by sending Facebook users a shipping pallet of packages if they answer four questions? No, that's not true: Lead Stories received a statement from a FedEx representative who stated that the post "appears to be fradulent" and their brand is not associated with this post. The link in…

Did Elon Musk launch an AI cryptocurrency trading platform called Bitsoft 360 AI? No, that's not true: This video of Musk was taken from a guest appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast on September 7, 2018, and its transcript shows Musk never said, "I launched an AI cryptocurrency trading platform called Bitsoft 360." The fabricated audio has been added to…

Can simply answering three or four questions and paying a nominal handling fee qualify people to redeem tickets, receive expensive products, $500 or even $1,000 gift cards, store credit or compensation from well-known brands? No, that's not true: In the first quarter of 2023, Lead Stories tracked a large-scale phishing operation on Facebook that manipulatively tricks people into divulging personal…

Is the fast-fashion clothing brand SHEIN offering $1,000 in store credit to Facebook users for simply answering four questions? No, that's not true: SHEIN is a real clothing brand but this is not their promotion. The empty promise of store credit is a ruse to get people to enter personal information on a malicious website under the guise of taking…

Did Walmart sell eggs for "illegal prices" and are $500 store credits being given to customers to "make it up"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Walmart sold eggs at illegally high prices nor is there any evidence of consumers being able to get $500 in store credit from the world's largest retailer as compensation. The claim…

Was Walmart "fined big for raising prices illegally high," and as a result, can consumers apply to get $500 in store credit? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Walmart has been fined nor is there any evidence of consumers being able to get $500 in store credit. The claim appeared on Facebook on January 12, 2023. It…

Will answering four questions earn all Walmart female customers $500 in grocery credits, given that the company purportedly has discriminated against women "for years"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the long-time retailer has issued such a survey. Walmart's online "Fraud Alerts" page describes its process for awarding survey participants with gift cards; notices of such awards…

Will answering three questions earn Walmart consumers "household pallets" from a warehouse for only $2, after a court ordered the company to sell the purportedly "outdated household pallets"? No, that's not true: A Walmart spokesperson confirmed for Lead Stories that this claim is false. Walmart's online "Fraud Alerts" page also described posts such as this as scams. The claim appeared…