We’ve run numerous articles about the Safelink Wireless free government cel phone program. As we’ve said many times, it’s a program that’s ripe for, and undoubted rife with, fraud.
Of course, the articles we’ve run are always followed by dozens (sometimes hundreds) of comments from people who call us cold-hearted bastards who lack even a shred of human decency.
[ad-1985977]
They may be right about that, but we’re right about the potential for fraud. Want proof? Check out the following police incident report from ENCtoday.com, which calls itself “Eastern North Carolina’s source for news and information.”
Incident reports
The following incidents were reported by the Kinston Department of Public Safety and the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office:
… On June 9, a woman on Norline Drive, La Grange, reported someone broke into her residence and stole the following: A Dell computer valued at $200; a 50″ Panasonic flatscreen TV valued at $1,000; a Wii game system valued at $250; an RCA stereo system valued at $100; a Belkin wireless router valued at $70; a Safe Link cell phone valued at $0.
WTF? Can someone explain to us why someone can afford a house full of fancy electronics yet still qualify for a free government cell phone?
Or is there now some free government 50” flatscreen TV scam, too?
Source: ENC Today
This post was last modified on January 26, 2021
View Comments (28)
And another ha'penny there and another tuppence here, and pretty soon it's HALF MY FARKING PAYCHECK, BUTTMUNCH!
People,People,People, I hate when you say, its Costing me tax money,do you know your only pay a half cent if that on this program,free cell phone that's a
shame. Your getting upset about your tax dollars going to, from what I see
A program that you can see product.How many time do you here you tax $ working for you but don't see any thing happening ? Millions spent but nothing to show for. I for one am proud of this program, this one is a moral issue one per family, for you who are getting more then one shame on you..
These free phones are probably loaded with tracking, so when needed the government can find anyone of their constituents. Nothing for free.
Hopefully I can get all this in before my small brain springs a leak...
I would hope that illegals would not be getting these phones, but most of the illegals around me have their own fancy cells that take pics/videos,etc., with Mama, Papa, and un-numbered children each having their own...
For those on low-income housing and/or foodstamps, they obviously aren't being truthful about their "assests".
I find myself in the unfortunate circumstance of talking to Safelink for a phone for myself. I have a home phone, and had just been blowing people off when they told me I "need" a cell...until I was out in my wheelchair for the first time...Bothered me quite a lot when I realized it could possible take more time than I HAD to flag down a passerby (if they would even stop) for help. A Safelink will give me a little security when out alone, and it's not like I need a load of minutes with it, so it's the solution to a problem for me.
By the way...where is it that I sign up for my free flat screen??? (darn it, I KNEW you were going to say I'm dreaming again...!)
Received one of these safelink phones today at my home address that I have lived at for over 11 years. The person this was sent to obviously does not live at this address and when I looked up the name they are living in low income housing on the other side of town. This is the 2nd time we have received a phone for this person. The 1st time we contacted Safelink and let them know the person does not live here and we thought this was a fraudulent case. Now we have received another phone today. Any idea where else I can go to report this to someone who actually may care? It really upsets me that these people are actually getting cell phones for free off the hard earned money that I go to work and earn, but then try to get a 2nd phone for free by sending it to a different address. Any information anyone can give would be appreciated.
You may contact the police and see what they will say to you.
If I need a cellphone because I am poor and I need someone else to pay for it and the service, and the person walks into my house and sees a flat screen TV with HDTV cable box and service. Two laptop computers with high speed internet service three dvd players and other goodies shouldn't the person be mad?
This is simply a "dog bites man" clipping. Let's not get too excited.. and let's keep our sights focused, fellow conservatives. Easy to be distracted on all the minor threats. Let's keep our eyes peeled for the big one. The economic discussion, the commodity price discussion, the job creation discussion, and the constitutional consistency discussion. Sorry, but f*ck free cell phones. That's fringe BS.
Isn't part of "the big one" the accumulation of all these little things until the tsunami of it all comes crashing in on our fiscal shore? "Free" is a misnomer. There is no such thing.
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly we are to judge others. First you do not know this person's situation, maybe they were laid off last year after working a well paying job that was used to buy these items. Maybe, as in many areas, there is free phone connections to the internet, after all most job postings are on the internet now and are not accepted in person. The thing is, you don't know their story, just because someone owns something or drives a car that would normally mean they are "rich" does not mean they are. I thank God, I do not judge people based on the things they own or the clothes they wear, after all, just because they receive something from the government does not mean they are homeless as many of you seem to think is a requirement.
I completely agree. Conservative Libertarian here, and I think this thread is exploitation at best.
Oy Veh! Someone on Facebook posted a link to this page, a FAQ on a free government cell phone site, that answers the question, "Can an illegal alien get a free cell phone from the government?"
http://bit.ly/mufeIv
Q: Can an illegal alien get a free cell phone from the government?
A: A popular charge from detractors of the Lifeline cell phone service is that illegal aliens can obtain a free phone. Is this true? The short answer is yes.
There is no citizenship verification in the application process for obtaining a cell phone from any of the vendors like Safelink, Assurance or ReachOut. There is no mandate from the government that they must do such verification.
(...it goes on with more detail)
To their credit, at least they concluded with: "There are millions of honest, hardworking American citizens who need this service, and we are most definitely not in favor of letting illegal immigrants get the free phones."
"...A Dell computer valued at $200; a 50″ Panasonic flatscreen TV valued at $1,000; a Wii game system valued at $250; an RCA stereo system valued at $100; a Belkin wireless router valued at $70"
You just KNOW she got all that shit in the Annual WalMart Black Friday Smackdown!