World Health Organization warns over ‘fraudulent’ COVID-19 lottery

The World Health Organization has issued a stark warning to the public after it was made aware of correspondences being circulated by scammers, falsely notifying recipients that they have been selected as a winner of a $1m lottery prize due to COVID-19 losses.
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The World Health Organization has issued a stark warning to the public after it was made aware of correspondences being circulated by scammers, falsely notifying recipients that they have been selected as a winner of a $1m lottery prize due to COVID-19 losses.

These fraudulent messages falsely correspond that the so-called “COVID-19 Lottery Compensation Prize” is available to people who have been economically impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The scammers, acting under the name “Capital Finance, Inc London”, claim to be awarding prizes on behalf of WHO, in association with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). 

WHO strongly denies any correspondence with the scammers, claiming they have never ‘appointed or entered into any contractual relationship with any entity by the name of Capital Finance, Inc’.

Furthermore, the WHO warned that the scammers attempt to extract victims’ data as well as money, with evidence that they ask for the passports and addresses of victims. Once more, WHO reiterated that it does not seek any such information from anybody.

It said in a statement: “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.”