A VIRAL message circulating on WhatsApp and other social media platforms claims that businessman and politician Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki is offering a N50,000 cash grant to Nigerian youths as part of an empowerment initiative.
The message, which gained traction following the distribution of federal relief funds, urges recipients to click on a shortened link and complete an online form to qualify for the purported grant.
READ: How to identify phishing scams and websites
CLAIM
Viral WhatsApp message claims that Yahaya Seriki is offering a cash grant of N50,000 to Nigerian youths via an online registration link.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
A verification of the claim shows that the portal link provided in the viral message is a fraudulent phishing site designed to collect personal user data under the guise of an empowerment scheme.
In an official public disclaimer issued by the Yahaya Seriki Foundation, Yahaya Seriki explicitly disowned the viral message and the associated link, warning the public against interacting with fraudulent websites.
The foundation clarified that it only processes applications through its official domain, which is the yahayaserikifoundation.org and warned citizens not to submit personal details or financial information on external URL shorteners like cut-ly.com.
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Furthermore, the use of a shortened link such as cut-ly.com raises concerns about the authenticity of the purported grant portal. Such links can conceal the actual destination of a website, a tactic often exploited in phishing and other social engineering scams.
Scammers frequently impersonate prominent public figures or exploit public interest in legitimate government relief programmes to deceive unsuspecting Nigerians into disclosing sensitive personal information.
VERDICT
The viral message claiming that Yahaya Seriki is distributing N50,000 empowerment cash grants via an online registration link is FALSE. Yahaya Seriki has officially disowned the scheme, advising the public to avoid sharing personal information on unverified portals.
Seasoned writer and literary curator, Zainab Abdulrasaq is a factchecker for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached on IG @blackbookishgirl or zabdulrasaq@icirnigeria.org
