US warns of importers posing as USAID officials
3 min read
US government warns Kenyans over imposters posing as USAID officials going around conning people
US government warns Kenyans over imposters posing as USAID officials going around conning people.
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).
USAID Kenya issued a statement in which it referred to the message as having been shared by con artists attempting to obtain money from gullible people by impersonating 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.
In the statement, USAID MD David Gosney stated that there are no costs associated with any application procedure that the agency or its partners charge.
The post that was noticed attempted to coerce people and businesses into paying money by claiming that participation in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit Network would need payment for accreditation.
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.
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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.
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