WATCH OUT
I’m a fact checker with the real story behind the $6,400 free money ads – and people say ‘it’s getting out of hand’
The free money advertisement could be dangerous
A FACT checker has seemingly debunked direct payment ads that are circling online, claiming to offer Americans free money.
The finance influencer set out to tell the real story behind what many people might have recently seen pop up on their favorite sites while surfing the web or watching videos.
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A TikToker had finally had enough of the free money offering, requesting that Verify (@verifythis) confirm whether or not the promise of a $6,400 disbursement from the federal government was accurate.
Ads for the supposed federal payment have been touted by other people claiming to have benefited greatly from it, urging viewers to "apply" so they could do the same.
"He's talking about ads like these," the operator of the Verify account said while pointing to screenshots included in a clip, which showed three separate ads that promised the $6,400 amount through the Affordable Care Act or Premium Health Credits.
The ads are "claiming people can get a free federal health insurance plan with a $6,400 spending allowance," she explained.
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"An allowance that, according to the ad, can be used for everyday expenses like groceries, rent, and gas."
The promise, according to the fact checker, really is too good to be true.
She noted that they're particularly misleading, as "there isn't a free federal health insurance plan that's going to give you that kind of cash."
Using direct sources from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Better Business Bureau (BBB), and more, the fact checker continued that the $6,400 referenced in the misleading ads is actually a premium tax credit from the government.
Most read in Money
"It subsidizes, or lowers the amount of money you'd have to pay each month for your federal health care plan," she said.
The fact checker clarified that it isn't free money that can be used for whatever Americans might want to put it towards.
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Not to mention, many people might not qualify for the $6,400 credit, as the "amount varies based on your income, your family size, the cost of your insurance."
She also added that the credit isn't directly given to those who apply for it, but distributed directly to the insurance company or given as a tax credit when filing after paying full price for the plan.
WHO'S MAKING THE ADS?
One thing's for sure, according to the fact checker — the ads aren't coming from the federal government.
The screenshots she included came from sites with ".com" addresses, when you'd always find a ".gov" for any legitimate government website.
"Some of the ads might be coming from insurance brokers," the fact checker noted.
The brokers might be trying to convince some Americans to sign up for a plan through them during open enrollment, throwing out the potential of the $6,400 tax credit.
Although the fact checker stressed that it's likely scammers, according to data collected by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
AARP found that scammers were creating similar websites to promise the $6,400 and obtain users personal information.
Changing a healthcare plan should happen directly through healthcare.gov or a state healthcare exchange, per the fact checker.
Several viewers of the clip from Verify were grateful that she called out the potentially fraudulent ads.
"It's getting out of hand," one person wrote.
"Thank you for covering this!!" another said.
"Thank god you guys addressed this! I get so sick of those things!" a third added.
Read More on The US Sun
For more related content, check out The U.S. Sun's coverage of a bank customer who recently lost $120,000 in savings after a computer virus infected their device.
The U.S. Sun also has the story on a woman who lost $800 instantly after trying to get $89 back from a surcharge.