BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– The United States of America (USA) Embassy has warned the Nation on fake grants scheme going around.
The scheme has been circulating for three days now on social media sites, where a picture of His Majesty King Mswati III is used prompting people to sign up to receive free grants.
The Embassy through their media department announced that it had come to their attention that false information is being spread on social media platforms regarding grants being offered by the US Embassy.
“We want to clarify that this information is not true. The US embassy is not offering any grants via social media platforms. We urge everyone to be vigilant and cautious when receiving information on social media, and to always verify the source of the information before believing or sharing it,” read their statement in part.
They further mentioned that in this case, information about US Embassy grants can be found on the official website of the embassy https://sz.usembassy.gov/. And that if there were any grants being handed out the Embassy was going to use formal channels to announce.
“Please note that spreading false information can have serious consequences and can lead to confusion and mistrust among the public. We encourage everyone to be responsible and to only share information that is accurate and verified,” said the Embassy.
The circulating scam comes shortly after the Government of Eswatini through the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) warned the public on cybercrime.
Head of Department, Nicholas Jele, warned the public to be careful of online purchases, especially with respect to Facebook sellers.
He added that a lot of people have sent money to personal accounts abroad, thinking they were buying from legitimate companies as convinced by the advertisements they see on Facebook, as well as the quotations and invoices they receive. Jele added that it is important to never use free Wi-Fi to make online purchases or online banking transactions, as they are more liable to hacker presence than personal data.
