The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has warned the public against fake Facebook pages and online posts offering “UPLIFT educational assistance” through unauthorized registration links. The posts promise educational cash grants ranging from PHP2,000 to PHP8,000 by grade level — a claim DSWD spokesperson Asst. Sec. Irene Dumlao flatly rejected in a news release. The scheme was built to look credible by using the UPLIFT’s name and branding, then funnels people into fake registration forms built to harvest personal information — names, addresses, and ID numbers — for identity theft or fraud.
The DSWD laid out the warning in plain terms. According to DSWD Spokesperson Asst. Sec. Irene Dumlao,
“There is no educational assistance under the UPLIFT. This assistance is specifically to ease the effects of rising food prices. There is no registration for the UPLIFT Assistance because its beneficiaries are already predetermined based on the latest CBMS data, so please do not click any links you see claiming that you can register, as this is a scam.”
What the Fake Posts Claim
The fake posts claim that the UPLIFT program offers educational cash grants by grade level:
- PHP2,000 for elementary students
- PHP3,000 for junior high school students
- PHP5,000 for senior high school students
- PHP8,000 for college students
None of this exists. DSWD has confirmed that UPLIFT was built for only one purpose: to ease the financial pressure of rising food prices on poor and low-income households. School fees are not part of it.
Who It Targets
The posts target parents and guardians of school-age children — people already looking for financial help, or those who’ve heard of UPLIFT and assume the program has expanded. Government branding carries trust, and that trust is what makes the deception work. A stranger’s Facebook page becomes credible the moment it looks like it came from DSWD. The registration links exist for one reason: to collect personal information for identity theft or broader fraud.
How to Recognize UPLIFT Scams
The claims may change, but the warning signs don’t. Here are the telltale signs that a post for assistance related to the UPLIFT program is fake:
- UPLIFT has no online registration.
DSWD confirmed that beneficiaries are already identified through the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) — no sign-up required. Any post asking you to register did not come from DSWD.
- UPLIFT has no educational component.
The program was created to address rising food prices — not tuition, school supplies, or any education-related cost.
- The real benefit is a fixed monthly amount.
Qualified beneficiaries in Groups 2 and 3 receive PHP2,000 per month, per President Marcos’s directive — not a tiered amount based on a child’s grade level.
- Looking official is not the same as being official.
Any page can carry the DSWD name and logo. That alone does not make the information — or the link — legitimate.
- DSWD does not request personal information through unsolicited links.
Any post asking you to submit your details through an unfamiliar link is a scam, no matter how official it looks.
Where to Report It
If you come across a fake UPLIFT educational assistance post, don’t click the link. Don’t fill out any form. Instead, report it through DSWD’s official channels:
- Online Grievance Portal: i-grs.dswd.gov.ph
- Smart: 0919-911-6200
- Globe: 0917-110-5686 / 0917-827-2543
- Email: inquiry@dswd.gov.ph
- Facebook: DSWD
These are the only channels DSWD has confirmed for questions about UPLIFT and for reporting suspicious posts or pages. And if you’re unsure: “The best course of action is to verify the information first in the official communication channels of the DSWD.”
For more information on this newest scam, watch this video below: