The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Kenya has distanced itself from a fake social media post purporting to invite interested individuals and organizations to a high-profile delegates summit dubbed Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN).
In a statement USAID Kenya, flagged the post disseminated by fraudsters who sought to solicit money from unsuspecting individuals by posing as GEN officials.
“Scam Alert: USAID is aware of this fraudulent advert falsely associated with the USAID Africa Trade & Investment Activity. USAID MD David Gosney and USAID Kenya and East Africa, are not associated with this advertisement," the agency remarked in a statement.
USAID MD David Gosney, in the statement, said that the agency and its partners do not charge any fees as part of any application process.
The flagged post sought to extort money from individuals and companies by charging accreditation fees for participating in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit Network.
The flagged post further outlined a breakdown of the accreditation charges.
For instance, individuals interested in full accreditation would have to cough up USD400. The amount was cited to be inclusive of a clearance and records fee which was pegged at USD120. The certification fee was quoted at USD80 while the accreditation process and legal fee charges were put at USD60 and USD140 respectively.
Meanwhile, organisations seeking to acquire full accreditation were being asked to pay USD 770. This was broken down into a clearance and records fee of USD270, a certification fee of USD100, an accreditation process fee of USD120, and legal fee charges of USD280.
"Get back to my office whenever you are ready to proceed with the accreditation so that I can provide you with a form to fill in and our bank payment details to enable you to do the transfer to facilitate your accreditation and certification as requested," the post read in part.
The post claimed that the forum was to be held virtually and would feature about 100 high-profile events and networking opportunities.
According to the post, the forum would also feature World Leaders Investment Summits, Ministerial Round Tables, the Investment Promotion Conference, the Institutional Investors for Sustainable Development, as well as the launching of global initiatives for investment in development.
"The Forum is recognized by governments, institutions, and business leaders as the pre-eminent global gathering for investment partnership and policy making, providing a platform for interaction among the key stakeholders including policymakers and parliamentarians, CEOs of global companies," read the fake statement.
The notice by USAID Kenya comes against the backdrop of the recent warning alert by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) of scammers using new tricks to con unsuspecting WhatsApp users through texts.
According to detectives, the alleged scammers use a technique known as phishing to unwarrantedly access unsuspecting individuals' mobile and personal details.
