dispenser and manager of funds to vulnerable Nigerians, ostensibly to
cope with the discomfort associated with the lockdown measures of the
Federal Government in some parts of the country.
The Acting Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, who disclosed
the strange development on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, added that some
faceless elements are circulating ” FREE N5000 LOCKDOWN FUNDS TO SUSTAIN
DURING LOCKDOWN”.
He said, ” The circulation of the fake funds is being carried out online
through a phishing link via WhatsApp. The link is embedded with a link
titled https://bit.ly/free-N5000. Whenever the link is clicked, it would
redirect recipients of the message to a phishing website address
https://fg-free-funds.blogspot
will find an online questionnaire from which they must respond in order
to trigger the phishing”.
According to Magu, the phishing website is curiously hosted on a Google
server. “However, registration information of the website is being
investigated and members of the public are advised to be wary of any
Lockdown Funds dressed in any suspicious garb”, he added.
It would be recalled that, the EFCC, had in a recent release, cautioned
Nigerians against fake cures and donations, especially fake charities
springing up purporting to offer guidelines on donations to government
and ordinary Nigerians in a bid to cope with the discomfort arising out
of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Magu reiterates the commitments of the EFCC to monitor closely the
antics of fraudsters cashing in on the government lockdown directives to
perpetrate criminal acts. “We would not stop bursting every scheme
designed to defraud Nigerians of their hard- earned money”, he said.