Dear mate!
WOW It is a joke! HA HA HA!
Each 28 of December is a day for pranks. This practice is common in the Hispanic Countries and it is related with the date of Holy Innocents' Day. You can find more information about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_the_Innocents#Feast_days. This is equivalent to April Fool's Day.
As an advice, never borrow money neither believe the news... who knows!
Good luck!
PS. If you saw this claim your sweet at the end of January during the conversation group.
