I got scammed yesterday as I was trying to register for government grant through a link a friend sent to me on Facebook!
This new grant format that yahoo boys are using to dupe their victim is too common now and I need to expo it, to avoid someone else falling victim.
Few days ago, an unknown contact messaged me on Facebook about a federal government grant which the person urged me to apply, and it goes this way;
Don’t miss this Federal Governemt N10,500 weekly grant. It takes fews seconds to apply. Dont miss this great opportunity. Apply here.
I rushed immediately to apply, but I needed to pay certain amount of money to get access to the grant toward the end of the application, which I paid immediately and till now, I never received any grant nor am I able to contact anyone for refund of my money!
Note: This article is written with good intention and not to teach you how to scam, Rather to inform you that you could be scammed while trying to apply for grant, which means you need to be careful and verify the legitimate of any grant before applying.
What is grant format?
Grant format is an idea or method that scammers normally use to defraud their client while trying to help them apply for grant. Even, as a student you can also get scammed while trying to apply for bursary, scholarship or gift.
It is true that people like free things and grant happen to be a sum of money given by a government or other organizations for a particular purpose, which means no repayment.
But, you can spend enough cash just because you want to have access to the grant or bursary.
Grant format for yahoo message copy and paste;
Scammers can use this kind of message to draw your attention before billing you, as this will make you believe and have confidence in them about the grant.
They can send you this message through, Instagram, WhatsApp, or any social media app;
Federal Government together with The World Bank is giving out the total sum of $750m to All Citizens of Nigeria.
This is part of the Federal Government plan to take 100 million Nigerians out of Poverty.
(₦50,000 per individual), Don`t miss out on this Opportunity Now…
Payment has began for all the Applicants already.
Federal Government in collaboration with CBN is giving out ₦500m as Grant
(15,000 Naira per individual) This Grant is Available To all Nigerians, Payment will be sent to your Bank Account within 24 hours after Applying.
Hurry Now and Check if you are Eligible to Receive ₦15,000 Naira Support fund From FG – CBN Grant.
How scammers use grant format to bill people
Below are things scammers usually do or set before they start to bill their victim for money. They use grant application as a set up or strategy to draw people close.
Once they capture your attention using their grant message below are things they will use to make you believe them;
1. Design fake grant application website
The scammer will use their money to design a good looking mobile friendly. This website will contain information about federal and state government grant application and the process of application.
But, the major thing they will not fail at is to ask you for money toward the end of the application. For example; pay #40,750 to get access to your #500,000 grant.
Once you pay they money it is either their block your IP or disable the website once they have scammed enough money.
2. They will create a professional email
This professional email will contain the name of their website and it must be on trending issues, for example; during covid 19 a lot of scammers scammed people using covid 19 grant format.
They will tell you that, the federal government or government of America is giving grant to each eligible individual and for you to check if you are eligible you need to apply first and pay for screening.
Professional email will make it look legit and trusted without believing that you will soon be scammed.
3. A foreign number
They create a USA phone number so you can easily believe them when they call you on phone, their aim is to use phone call to convince you more into sending fund quickly so you can get access to your grant.
4. They will place advert
They may pay large number of influencers to advertise for them, or using Facebook advert to get more target audience.
Most of the scammers are also found inside different Facebook and WhatsApp groups sharing the grant messages and links.
They mostly target individuals thinking of; investment, grant, employment, as those are their target audience.
How never to fall victim of grant format for scamming
If you want to be safe without getting scammed, you need to be vigilant, and understand when a grant is scam, not just that you also need to do the following;
- Always verify any grant message or information before you apply as many of them are fake and most are just for bloggers to gain more traffic to their blog.
- Ask more people question to be sure if they have applied before or hear their opinion about the grant, if it’s legit then you can apply.
- Do not apply for any grant that require money before you gain access to it, grant is free money which means it’s been given free. It’s impossible for government to ask people they want to help for money before helping.
- Were you asked for either your personal or your company’s ID or your bank account information? When asked for this info, ask the caller for the proposal in writing. Chances are you will never hear from them again.
- Unsolicited grants are often scam. If you didn’t apply for grant and you get a message they you win a grant that you should claim it, it’s a scam.
Conclusion
I have been able to show you how grant format for scamming works and how scammers can easily get you on Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram using this format.
They can still use this format to get your personal details if you are not vigilant, which means you need to investigate the legitimacy of any grant before you apply to avoid getting scammed.