By: Aanuoluwatomiwa Oke and Abimbola Success
Claim: Free Hajj Sponsorship for Over 750,000 Muslims
Verdict: False
Full Text
A spear-phishing message is being shared on different WhatsApp groups urging individuals to apply for a sponsored hajj.
The open link claims that application for the Mohammed Bin Salman free Hajj sponsorship 2024 is available for Muslims to apply.
The post, as of the time of this check, has been making rounds across various WhatsApp platforms. The post has a “Register and Apply Here” call to action prompting interested candidates to click on the link.
The post reads,
“Salam alaikum,
Applications for the Mohammed Bin Salman free hajj sponsorship 2024 are available. This scheme is open to all muslims who for financial reasons are not in a position to afford hajj this year.
Over 750,000 muslims will be given the opportunity to do hajj (free transport and accomodation). Application has begun and those that have applied have started getting their passports.”
Hajj is the holy pilgrimage that Muslims engage in during the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar and the exercise is among the five pillars of Islam. Slots for the exercise are regulated by Saudi Arabia since the pilgrimage occurs in the country. Countries with a large Muslim population are given a certain number of slots through their regulatory agencies through which individuals apply, depending on the laws in the country.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Foundation (the Misk Foundation) is a non-profit foundation established by H.R.H. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in 2011 to discover, develop and empower Saudi youth to become active participants in the future economy. Misk enables the society to learn, develop and progress in business, literature and culture, and science and technology through establishing incubators and encouraging esteemed institutions to provide an attractive and stimulating environment. It pursues this agenda both through its own programmes, and through partnerships with local and global organisations.
However, FactCheckAfrica observed that there has been recurrent false and misleading information about the foundation sponsoring Hajj pilgrims. The message, which has a link to a website where interested persons can apply, is a phishing scheme where scammers steal personal information of victims who fill the data they ask for.
A visit to the said website indicated that personal information, like title, name, age, email, phone number, and country among, were asked in the opening page before a visitor is redirected to another page when ‘submit’ is clicked.
Phishing is a cyber criminal attempt to access people’s personal information. It is a form of scam where certain individuals appear as a trusted entity to gain access to people’s vital information. Perpetrators often distribute malicious contents like links or attachments with the aim of gaining access to your device which can be in the form of extracting login credentials or account information.
According to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the aim of phishing “is often to make you visit a website, which may download a virus onto your computer, or steal bank details or other personal information.”
Verification
An analysis was run on the website using Whois, a tool that provides information on domain names. The analysis showed that the link was not to be trusted. In confirming the authenticity of the domain information, it revealed that the website is inauthentic. Our further research using a phishing detecting tool, Easydmarc also revealed that the link was a suspicious one.
screenshot of website details|| FCA
Conclusion:
The findings from all sources have shown that the link is a fabricated website in an attempt to phish into the data of cyber users.
edited by Habeeb Adisa
