IMAGE: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp
Another viral WhatsApp post states that the elections body is recruiting online for ‘different positions’ in 2024
It is the latest example of a tide of phishing scams that is washing over WhatsApp and into other social media spaces.
The post was forwarded to Namibia Fact Check over five times in May 2024, including before the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) confirmed that it was fake on their official social media pages. Even after the ECN had confirmed that it was fake the post continued to circulate.
The viral phishing (image below) post states:
“ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF NAMIBIA
The 2024 ECN online recruitment program is ongoing and applications for differents postions are being submitted,All those who wish to apply for the recruitment can do so here in this portal .
APPLICANTS MUST BE A CITIZEN NAMIBIA
Click the link below to know more about the recruitment and how to apply online.
APPLY NOW👇
The latest ECN jobs scam post is a rehashing of similar ones debunked by Namibia Fact Check in June and July of 2023. Both of the 2023 posts also claimed that the ECN was recruiting via an online portal.
The link in the post directs to a webpage unconnected to the official ECN website, which clearly stated on 24 May 2024: “THERE ARE NO VACANCIES AT THE MOMENT!“
The tell-tale signs of it being a scam post are all there – bad spelling and poor sentence construction, as well as no official logo or emblem, and a link that directs to a scam webpage where personal information is requested.
ECN response
In a post, dated 10 May 2024, on its Facebook page, the ECN labeled the post as ‘fake news’ (image below). The same labelling was used on the viral post in an ECN WhatsApp media group on 23 May 2024.
