'Government Grant' Social Media DM Scam
A message — often from a hacked friend — says you qualify for free government grant money and asks for a fee or your account login to 'process' it.
Think a message like this reached you? You can check it right now.
What this scam is
You get a direct message, frequently from a friend's hacked account, saying you have been selected for a government grant of several thousand dollars. To 'release' it, you are told to pay a fee by gift card or app, or to share your bank login or a verification code. There is no grant; the fee and details are the scam. Real government grants are not awarded through social-media DMs and never require a fee.
What it usually looks like
- A DM claiming you won or qualify for free grant money.
- A message that seems to come from a friend.
- A required fee to 'process' or 'deliver' the grant.
- Requests for a bank login or one-time code.
Common warning signs
- Government grants are not awarded by social-media DM.
- A fee is required to receive 'free' money.
- A friend's account suddenly pushes a grant offer.
- Requests for codes or logins.
Example wording scammers use
“Hey! I just got $9,000 from a government grant program — you qualify too! Message the agent here to claim yours.”
“To release your grant, send a $200 clearance fee via Cash App.”
These are illustrative examples written by ScamSplain, not real messages.
What the scammers want
- An upfront 'clearance' fee.
- Your bank login or verification codes.
- To spread the scam through your contacts.
What to do
- Do not pay a fee or share codes; there is no grant.
- Contact the friend another way to warn them their account is hacked.
- Report and ignore the message.
- Never send gift cards to claim 'free' money.
What to do if you already responded
- Change your own passwords if you shared any and secure your accounts.
- Contact gift-card or app support if you paid.
- Report at reportfraud.ftc.gov.