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| - A WHATSAPP post in circulation says Bola Tinubu Support Organisation (BTSO) is giving out N25,000 to every Nigerian citizen.
The post, retrieved from a WhatsApp group, claimed that the newly increased fund is part of the Tinubu Support Grant, adding that it is available for all Nigerians who click the link and fill out the form.
The claim reads:
TINUBU SUPPORT ORGANIZATION 2022
Hurry Now and Check if You are Eligible to Receive N25,000( Newly Increased ) Support Fund As Part Of TINUBU Support Grant.
This Grant Is Available To All Nigerians
Apply Here
A national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, had on January 10, 2022, declared his intention to contest the presidential poll in Nigeria’s 2023 general election, Premium Times reported.
READ: TB Joshua: Video of Tinubu criticizing BBC documentary is doctored!
Earlier in March 2021, the Bola Tinubu Support Organisation (BTSO) was inaugurated in Abuja, The Nation newspaper had reported.
The BTSO claimed on its website that it is “a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with the aim galvanizing support round the country for the actualization of 2023 Presidential Candidature of His Excellency, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, The Asiwaju of Lagos and The Jagaban of Borgu Kingdom.”
THE CLAIM
Tinubu [Bola Tinubu Support Organisation] is inviting Nigerian citizens to apply for the Bola Tinubu Support Organization Funds.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
A click on the link, archived here, directs users to a website with an image of Bola Tinubu and some texts about BTSO alongside an instruction: “Get Your Own ₦25,000 Which Was Previously ₦19,800 By Filling The Form Below”.
It directs users to fill in their names, mobile number, home address and email address. Once those details are filled and submitted, it directs users to a totally different website archived here.
When the redirected website was subjected to verification on Whois lookup – a platform for researching domain ownership, it revealed that the website was registered by one Shadrack Ebimodeinghan Ebisco.
A look at the website the claim directs users to has similar features with the websites The FactCheckHub has verified and found to be false here, here, here, and here.
Similarly, Comrade Abubakar Kuso, the National Coordinator of BTSO had earlier in a post on its official website debunked the claim.
“This is to inform the general public that at no time did Bola Tinubu Support Organization (BTSO) gives out any N25,000 or any amount as grant to Nigerians. The link circulating on social media is FAKE and NOT TRUE.
Please kindly disregard the link and don’t provide your details by applying for any grant,” he wrote.
When The FactCheckHub reached out to Ebisco via his mobile number retrieved from the database of Whois, he denied creating the phishing website.
“I’m not the person that created it. Someone just used my name to create it. I don’t know anything about it. I registered my website on namecheap and not whogohost,” he told The FactCheckHub via phone.
Avoid falling victim to phishing scams
Over time, The FactCheckHub has debunked several of such claims hiding under the guise of recruitment, support fund, empowerment programme, a government activity or free internet data.
ALSO READ: Akpabio repeats false claim about Lagos IGR under Tinubu
These claims usually follow a similar modus operandi by targeting areas that would be of interest to a lot of persons.
They are often shared via the WhatsApp platform. Oftentimes, they impersonate a group, person or organisation and they all have a link they ask people to click.
You can also read The FactCheckHub article on how to Fact-check viral posts shared via WhatsApp.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Tinubu [Bola Tinubu Support Organisation] is inviting Nigerian citizens to apply for the Bola Tinubu Support Organization Funds is FALSE.
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