Fakery and fraud: Energy scammers cast 'wide net' on Facebook

This illustration photo shows a phone screen displaying a video about a Filipino woman finding sand in her power bank. — AFP

WASHINGTON: A Filipino consumer fumes as she rips open a portable charger to discover she has been conned - the batteries are choked with sand, making her yet another victim of scammers on Facebook.

AFP's fact checkers have uncovered a slew of energy-related scams proliferating on Facebook - from fake solar panel incentives in the United States to hoax electric bike giveaways in Indonesia and the sale of dud devices in the Philippines.