By Hayatullahi Folorunsho Mudathir
A claim has been circulating via whatsapp message that the Federal Government has approved the payment of 75,000 Naira student bursary for all students across the nation.
The claim was widely circulated through messages sent randomly to students’ whatsapp platforms.
The message sent to the whatsapp groups on Sunday 8th October, 2023, directed people to click a link in the text message to apply for the bursary.
The claim reads:
“FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STUDENT BURSARY 2023 SCHEME
“Are you a Nigeria Students from Secondary school to higher institution the Federal Government have approved the payment of 75,000 Naira student bursary for all student acrcoss the nation Click on the link below to apply for your 75,000 Naira student bursary
APPLY NOW: https://sycurl.com/FEDSTUDENT-BURSARY2023.”
CLAIM
FG has Approved Payment of 75,000 Students Bursary For all Student Across the Nation.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub shows that the claim is FALSE.
When the web link in the message was subjected to verification, the result shows that it’s typically a phishing website.
A click on the link will take users to a website titled BURSARY APPLICATION FORM, asking users to fill in their name, phone number, name of institution and level of study, and then ask them to click the “APPLY” button.
Further click on the ‘apply’ button will take users to another page, telling then that their application is on process and there’s need to validate their bank account.
When a users press ‘continue’ it pops up three questions, asking users to answer them. They questions are: enter your account number, select your bank name, and what type level or class Federal government bursary are you applying for?
After answering the questions, it takes users to another page with a message that reads, “Congratulations You are qualified for the 75,000 Naira Federal government Student Bursary 2023 Scheme
How to proceed:
“NOTE: You’ll receive a confirmation SMS immediately to the number you provided and your bank account will be Credited if you follow instructions below.”
Users will be asked to share the link to 15 different friends or 5 WhatsApp groups to claim the 75,000 bursary. After submission, it takes users back to the registration page for another round of registration similar to the initial one.
The FactCheckHub had since 2021, published tutorial on how to identify phishing scams and websites. You can read it here.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Federal Government has approved the payment of 75,000 Naira students bursary for all student across the nation is FALSE; findings revealed that it’s a phishing scam.