(The European Union. Photo Credit: Arise News)
The European Union has warned the public against a fr@udulent document circulating online, which falsely claims that the bloc, in collaboration with the World Bank, is offering compensation to individuals whose funds are allegedly trapped in banks and financial institutions across West Africa.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS described the purported compensation programme as a sc@m, stressing that neither the European Union nor the World Bank has any involvement in such an initiative.
The fake document, fr@udulently attributed to the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, Thérèse Blanchet, claimed that a special EU-World Bank recovery programme had been set up to compensate citizens of Europe and other countries whose legally transferred funds were allegedly withheld by banks in the region.
It further falsely claimed that the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS had been mandated to supervise the exercise and directed potential claimants to contact him for processing.
The EU, however, dismissed the claims entirely, stating that the document in its entirety was a sc@m and that the information contained in it was false, adding that it was neither aware of nor part of any such bogus programme.
It disclosed that the email addresses and phone numbers listed in the fr@udulent document, purportedly belonging to Ms. Blanchet and the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador Gautier Mignot, were fake and were being used by fr@udsters to deceive unsuspecting victims.
The Delegation urged members of the public to disregard the fr@udulent claims and avoid engaging with anyone promoting the scheme, stressing that all official announcements from the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS are published exclusively through its official website and verified social media handles.
The warning comes amid a rise in cyber-enabled financial fr@ud cases in which criminal syndicates impersonate international organisations, government institutions and senior officials to lure victims into paying fictitious processing fees or disclosing sensitive personal and financial information.
Security experts have repeatedly advised the public to independently verify any unsolicited compensation offers, grants or investment opportunities through official channels before responding.
The EU reiterated its commitment to combating fr@ud and misinformation, urging citizens to remain vigilant against scams that exploit the names and identities of reputable international institutions.