The Federal Government has warned Nigerians against the activities of fraudsters who claim to be disbursing the sum of N80,000 under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Survival Fund scheme.
This follows the circulating scam messages on social media and SMS by these fraudsters asking unsuspecting members of the public to disclose their account details in order to benefit from the Survival Fund scheme.
According to NAN, this was made known in a statement issued on Monday by the Coordinator, Project Delivery Office (PDO) of the Federal Government’s MSME Survival Fund Scheme, Mr Tola Johnson, who said the fraudsters try to steal from unsuspecting members of the public.
Johnson in the statement said, “The fraudsters scam the public under the guise of the MSME Survival Fund Scheme.’’
He stated that tracks of the survival fund scheme have closed, noting that even the initial verification process did not require beneficiaries to drop their account details of individuals as being demanded by fraudsters in the ongoing scam.
He said, “The public is hereby notified that requests circulated via social media and SMS for people to disclose their account details to benefit from the Survival Fund Scheme is a scam.
“Hence, members of the public should disregard such requests. The public is asked to note that the only valid number for inquiries and information for the Survival Fund Scheme is 07004000500.
“The Scheme is also not disbursing the sum of N80,000 or any amount in grant or loan to individuals or businesses as advertised by the fraudsters.’’
Johnson also revealed that law enforcement agencies have been contacted by the committee in charge of the survival fund headed by the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Maryam Katagum, to track and bring the fraudster to justice.
He further stated that further developments in the implementation of the survival fund scheme would be communicated to the public through formal channels established by the steering committee.
The MSME Survival Fund, which is part of the N2.3 trillion stimulus package of the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan, was introduced by the Federal Government as part of efforts to help businesses overcome challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The MSMEs Survival Fund scheme is a conditional grant to support vulnerable micro and small enterprises in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguarding jobs in the MSMEs sector.
The scheme is expected to save at least 1.3 million jobs across the country and specifically impact over 35,000 individuals per state.
This is not the first time the federal government is alerting members of the public to the activities of some fraudsters who want to take advantage of the Survival Fund scheme to defraud them.
Recall that in March 2021, the Federal Government warned unsuspecting members of the public, who wish to apply for the MSME Survival Fund, to beware of fraudulent websites demanding account details, before giving applicants N50,000.
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