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By Bello Wasiu
Claim
A message circulating on WhatsApp claimed that Big Brother Naija is giving out ₦7,000 to Nigerians in celebration of the Season 9 launch.
A part of the message reads:
Big Brother Naija is giving out ₦7,000 to every Nigerian to celebrate the Season 9 launch. Over 600,000 Nigerians have received ₦7,000 each from the BIG BROTHER NAIJA GIVEAWAY.
The sender added a weblink to where people can supposedly claim the money.
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ROUNDCHECK Findings
When we clicked on the link to investigate, we received a pop-up message saying ‘Congratulations, you are eligible to receive the ₦7,000 Big Brother Naija Cash Transfer.”
This is without any thorough identification.
A button labelled “Submit Now” accompanied the message.
However, we discovered that the text was editable, meaning users could alter the content and still proceed to the next stage.
That means if you write “Don’t submit” or leave the page blank you will still be allowed to proceed to the next stage.
This raised immediate red flags about the legitimacy of the website.
Moreover, the website had a poor design and structure, closely resembling previous scam websites ROUNDCHECK has debunked in the past.
In the next step, we were prompted to enter personal information, such as bank account number and bank name.
After entering random details, a message popped up:
Congratulations, your account number is eligible to receive ₦7,000 from Big Brother Naija. Proceed to get your ₦7,000 cash.
However, to proceed, users were required to share the message with five WhatsApp groups or 15 friends.
Once the “verification” bar is filled up, users are redirected to a different URL https://macilku.blogspot.com which results in an error page.
This indicates the entire process is an attempt to collect personal data fraudulently without delivering the promised payout.
To check further, ROUNDCHECK also subjected the website link to ScamAdviser, an online tool that evaluates websites based on factors such as the identity of the owner, contact information, hosting location, and website technology.
The website so-called Big Brother Naija website https://Bigbrothernaija.giveout.live received a very low trust score and was flagged as potentially unsafe.
Red Flag
Online giveaway scams such as this are becoming increasingly common, with fraudsters using familiar brands and popular events like Big Brother Naija to lure unsuspecting individuals.
These scams usually follow a similar pattern.
They often promise free money or rewards in exchange for personal information or actions, such as sharing messages with friends.
These scams often end in users being redirected to error pages or phishing sites designed to steal information.
These scams not only waste the time of hopeful individuals but can also result in financial losses and identity theft.
Personal information added to these fraudulent websites can be used by scammers to commit more serious crimes, including accessing bank accounts, stealing funds, or compromising the user’s identity for other malicious purposes.
It is important to always verify if the message is coming from an official channel.
Spotting Right Information
For example, official giveaways from a brand like Big Brother Naija will be announced on their verified social media accounts or websites.
ROUNDCHECK reviewed the official social media accounts of Big Brother Naija 2024 but couldn’t find anything related to the post or announcement of a ₦7,000 cash giveaway by the organizers.
Both the Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages of Big Brother Naija are not updated with any giveaway, showing that the N7,000 giveaway claim is false.
Verdict
The WhatsApp message claiming that Big Brother Naija is giving out ₦7,000 to celebrate the Season 9 launch is INCORRECT.
It is a fraudulent scheme designed to deceive and exploit hopeful Nigerians.
