Scam Alert! Federal Government not giving N50,000 for child support

Lademi Aborisade

Claim: The Federal Government is giving ₦50,000 for child support to all Nigerian parents.

Verdict: False! The claim has been recurring since 2023, and the ministry has debunked the rumour. The link attached to the post is also a phishing scam used to get personal details from people. 

Full Text

Poverty in Nigeria remains a significant challenge despite the country’s vast natural resources and economic potential. The government and various organisations have implemented several poverty alleviation schemes and programmes to address poverty in Nigeria.

Scammers likewise use the name of popular alleviation schemes to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians of their hard-earned money.

A viral message has been circulating on WhatsApp groups stating that the Federal Government is giving  ₦50,000 for child support funds to all parents. The message admonishes that every Nigerian parent is entitled to receive the money for six months. 

“FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ₦50,000 CHILD SUPPORT FUND FOR ALL NIGERIAN PARENTS IS ONGOING

“Due to high level of complains from Nigerian parents on the high cost of feeding their children, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Betta C. Edu should open the CHILD SUPPORT scheme. Every Nigerian parent is entitled to receive the sum of ₦50,000 for six months.

“Are You A Mother or Father in Nigeria Apply Now For Federal Government ₦50,000 CHILD SUPPORT Cash Transfer. APPLY NOW. https://tr.ee/Child-Support-Fund-Portal. N.B: SHARE WITH OTHER PARENTS LET THEM ALL BENEFIT FROM THE CHILD SUPPORT.” the post reads. 

The virality of the post, its negative implications, and the potential for scammers to defraud unsuspecting people made DUBAWA verify the post. 

Verification 

We ran a keyword search on the story and discovered it was recurring from 2023. Guardian Online had reported the news to be false. 

In the report, The Federal government had alerted the public of a fake child support scheme. The former minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, said the scheme and accompanying links are fake and did not emanate from the ministry.

We also ran the link through a web adviser to check if the proceeding was safe, and the result came as suspicious. 

A click on the web link redirects you to another website that displays an NDLEA recruitment link, while the interface shows where the applicant inputs the personal details to claim the support fund with a proceed button.

The button takes you to another section where users are asked to input their bank details.

The text in that section reads “Your Application for the ongoing FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ₦50,000 CHILD SUPPORT FUND FOR NIGERIAN PARENTS is now in process. Kindly Validate Your Bank Account Number to proceed to the next step. Note! Applicants Must Be Nigerians By Birth. With a button to click on CONTINUE,” this was how we saw that it was a phishing scam. 

DUBAWA checked the X handle of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and could not find any news of the scheme there. 

We contacted the Presidential Spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, for a response but could not get any. 

Conclusion

The claim that the president and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs are giving money for child support is false. The link attached to the post is a phishing link used to obtain people’s personal details. 

The claim has also been debunked in 2023 by the Ministry of  Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation with a statement.