Scammers roll out ‘COVID-19 Compensation’ prize using WHO

A new scam is in town.

It tells you that you have been selected as a beneficiary of a $1 million lottery compensation prize payment for losses and damages suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The correspondence you get will tell you the so-called “COVID-19 Lottery Compensation Prize” is brought to you by WHO, in association with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

WHO says it is not a part of any such prize, and has warned against falling for it.

These scammers—who claim to be a financial management firm in London—falsely state that they have been appointed by WHO to process payment of the “COVID-19 Lottery Compensation Prize”.

The scam seeks to obtain personal details and sometimes money from recipients. They also request for a passport or proof of identification, nationality, occupation, mailing address, email and telephone number to enable processing the prize payment.

WHO says it has never appointed or had any contract  with any entity named Capital Finance Inc, nor is it in any way involved with the “COVID-19 Lottery Compensation Prize”.

:WHO is not offering or conducting a lottery prize to compensate individuals, whose names or contact details are purportedly selected at random, for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the organisation said on its site.

“WHO does not conduct lotteries and does not offer prizes, funds, certificates, bank and/or automated teller machine (ATM) cards, or compensation for Internet fraud;

“WHO does not request individuals to provide their bank accounts and/or other personal information such as copies of passports or identification cards, mailing addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, or occupations.

“WHO strongly recommends that recipients of correspondences such as those described above exercise extreme caution in respect of such correspondences and solicitations.

“The public should be aware that identity theft and/or financial loss could result from the transfer of personal information or money to those issuing such fraudulent correspondence.

“Victims of such scams are encouraged to report the scams to their local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.

“WHO asks the public to remain vigilant against fraudulent emails and recommends the use of reliable sources to obtain factual information about COVID-19 and other health issues.”