The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is notifying Nigerians, most especially startups in Nigeria, about a fraudulent website that is soliciting applications under the guise of the National Startup Investment Fund Programme.
The website, which, as of this writing, is currently down, was disguised to collect sensitive information of applicants including the BVN / NIN for fraudulent purposes.
To further deceive victims, the alleged program is purported to be under the management and control of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, in conjunction with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Bank of Industry (BoI).
Not only that, the owners of the fake website also uploaded the “Nigeria Startup Act”, which the President Buhari assented to on the 19th of October 2022. Their intention is to paint the picture that the ‘programme’ is the startup fund that the Act mandated to be set up by the government.
To this, NITDA says, “the federal government has nothing to do with this programme as being purported by the site.”
The agency is advising the general public to avoid and desist from divulging personal information on this website, urging unsuspecting Nigerians to “only visit official websites of government agencies to confirm the authenticity of any grant schemes or investment fund programmes.”
Innovation Village reported that the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami said that President Buhari had signed the Nigeria Startup Act, and that he had also approved the establishment of a N10 billion Investment Fund for young innovators. NITDA report claims the N10 billion Investment Fund that the fake site says it represents has not been set up.
How to avoid these type of scammers
Dishonest individuals want to use government programmes to steal money from hardworking entrepreneurs and startup owners.
So, it’s important to check unknown or disguised social media handles or websites first by talking to government officials. If you don’t check before giving out your personal information, you could be a victim of fraud or have your personal information stolen.
You can get information disseminated by the government on its official social media handles and official websites.
All readers should take this disclaimer as a call to action not to sign up for schemes offered by anonymous online services.
