IMAGE: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp
A post circulating in WhatsApp groups claims that something called “German Embassy Funds” is giving out 250 Euros to “citizens”
The post does not indicate which German embassy or which country’s “citizens” qualify for the funding supposedly meant for “Rural Children, Youths and Women”.
That said, the post is a well-worn phishing scam format that has been seen in different guises and promising different things, but with ultimately the same goal of scamming gullible or vulnerable people out of personal, private information or money, or inducing them to share the post and link to their own contacts in a click-bait type scam.
The post (image below), which was forwarded to Namibia Fact Check on 23 May 2024 for verification, reads:
“German Embassy Funds for Rural Children, Youths and Women
German Embassy Funds for Rural Children, Youths and Women registration portal is open for citizens who need support with Education and Business.
*German Embassy Funds for Rural Children, Youth and Women vision is to give out 250 Euros for each citizen
The Payments has just began for all applicants,Register To be Part of the Beneficiaries
Check Eligibility and Apply here
As with this type of phishing scam, the link in the post does not go to the official website of the German Embassy in Namibia, but rather links to a basic webpage that entices the viewer to click on a button to “Apply Now” for funding from “German Embassy Funds for Rural Children and Children with Disabilities 2024” (image below).
Interestingly, the name of the non-existent ‘funds’ keeps changing, for when the link was accessed again on 27 May 2024 the fake German embassy ‘fund’ was called the “Rural Business Development Fund for Business Owners”. Earlier in May 2024, the same link promoted a “German Embassy Youths Empowerments Fund”.
Clicking on the “Apply Now” button links to a survey-type page where personal information is requested. In order for the applicant to receive the ‘funds’, for which they had been instantly approved by answering a few questions, they are required to share the post with 15 friends on WhatsApp or into five WhatsApp groups.
Of course, no funds will ever be received from the fake ‘funds’ being promoted, even when the scam victim has complied with the requirements.
German Embassy response
By the time Namibia Fact Check started looking into this phishing scam post, the German embassy had already been warning the public via its Facebook page of the existence of the scam.
However, despite this, more than a week after the warning by the embassy, the post was still circulating in WhatsApp groups.
It is clear that the scammers just keep changing the name of the ‘fund’ in the post, and on the linked webpage, and keep circulating a slightly amended version of the scam post and the same link.