MSME Survival Fund: Beware of fraudsters — FG cautions Nigerians
The Federal Government has cautioned Nigerians to beware of the activities of fraudsters claiming to be disbursing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Survival Fund of 80, 000 naira.
A statement issued on Monday by Mr Tola Johnson, Coordinator, Project Delivery Office (PDO) of the Federal Government’s MSME Survival Fund Scheme said the fraudsters try to steal from unsuspecting members of the public.
“The fraudsters scam the public under the guise of the MSME Survival Fund Scheme,” he said.
Johnson stated that tracks of the survival fund scheme have closed, but even the initial verification process did not require beneficiaries dropping their account details of individuals as being demanded by fraudsters in the ongoing scam.
“The public is thereby 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 stated that the committee in charge of the survival fund headed by the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Amb. Maryam Katagum, has contacted law enforcement agencies 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.
