Fraud Alert: MTN not offering customers new year gift reward

Claim: A web-based message circulating via a link on WhatsApp claims MTN is offering a 2021 New year customer reward program.

Verdict: the link circulating on WhatsApp claiming to offer MTN 2021 New year customer reward program is false. It was confirmed by MTN to be fraudulent and deceptive.

Full text

A certain link circulating on WhatsApp claims to offer MTN 2021 New year Customer reward program. The link which is also a pathway to the acclaimed gift-offering website requires users to check if they have been selected for the Gifts. 

The checking procedure requires customers to enter their phone numbers into a space provided to confirm whether they have been selected for the gift. The acclaimed gift includes 50,000 Naira cash for the first 5000 people; 100GB of data for 20000 users, and 10000 Naira worth of airtime for 100000 users. To access these gifts, users are required to click a green button with the WhatsApp insignia, then copy the link offered (the same one under scrutiny) and share it on 12 WhatsApp groups before finally getting the gifts.  As a result, the link has been shared on WhatsApp over 6,789 times.

However, in the past, DUBAWA has confirmed similar links offering related services to the public to be fraudulent and deceptive. Thus, the link is subjected to scrutiny to verify its authenticity and the services it claims to offer.

Verification 

Dubawa first contacted MTN Nigeria Customer Service via a phone call to confirm the authenticity of the link and the services it claimed to offer. In response, Saleh Reheema, MTN Customer Service representative said the link in question is fraudulent, only posing as MTN to deceive unsuspecting members of the society. 

“People should desist from this link because MTN is currently not offering such services at the moment. This is apparently fraudulent and deceptive,” she said.

Furthermore, one major inconsistency traced within the website raised even more red flags. The website claimed that the gifts are only meant for 2,400 selected customers, yet on the same page it’s advertised that   “50,000 naira cash for the first 5,000 people; 100GB of data for 2,0000 users, and 10,000 Naira worth of airtime for 100,000 users.”  

Highlighted in the blue inscription where it was written: “enter your number to check if you are among the 2,400 customers selected to receive the award” 

Also on the same page where the same gifts are pledged for 5000, 20,000, and 100,000 customers

Similarly, when the website link was accessed on Scamdoc, the tool gave it a very bad trust score of 1%, implying that the link was recent and known for being used for fraudulent activities.

Also, we uncovered the link in question to be a data phishing website. Such sites are usually riddled with installed root pop-up ads that generate traffic through fraudulent schemes; worse still, they engage in the extraction of users’ data and financial details for nefarious purposes. 

Conclusion 

The information circulating about MTN offering gifts to customers is fraudulent and deceptive. The website is riddled with multiple red flags and inconsistencies including MTN’s  confirmation obtained that the claim is deceitful.