Scammers impersonate Delta SSG, defraud appointment seekers, contractors
Office of the Secretary to Delta State Government has raised alarm over the criminal activities of fraudsters impersonating SSG Delta, and obtaining money by false pretense in exchange for nonexistent political appointments.
SSG Delta, Dr Kingsley Emu, in a statement on Thursday and made available to newsmen, disclosed that the gang of criminals and imposters are using phone number 08085129491 to send unsolicited scam messages to unsuspecting members of the public, urging them to pay specific amount of money into Zenith Bank Account Number: 4235384296, indicating one Mr Jonah Kumor as the account holder, in exchange for political appointments and juicy contracts from the state government.
He urged members of the public to disregard such messages either through WhatsApp or SMS, noting that the scammers uses his picture on the WhatsApp DP, to mischievously and criminally deceive desperate political appointment seekers and contractors.
According to the statement, all political appointments in Delta state is at the instance of the Executive Governor, free of charge, and without payment of any sum of money whatsoever, while contracts can only be awarded through laid down procedures and bid after meeting relevant requirements, not via SMS or WhatsApp messages.
“The attention of the Secretary to Delta State Government (SSG) has again been drawn to the activities of some impostors who are using the name of his office to engage unsuspecting members of the public through phone number 08085129491 ( acct details: Jonah Kumor.4235384296.Zenith Bank).
“The criminal gang also used a fake WhatsApp account that has the picture of the SSG and with the clear intention of defrauding them by promising political appointments and also offering non-existing contract awards from the state government.”
“The office of the Secretary to Delta State Government is issuing this disclaimer as a public alert, urging Deltans and Nigerians to disregard any message or phone call in the nature of a solicitation ,as neither the SSG nor his office works through such a process.
“It needs to be stated that security agencies have been notified of the fraudulent activities of these faceless groups, and investigation is ongoing to unravel those behind the scam.
“Therefore, it is in the interest of these groups of persons to desist from their unwholesome acts, as anyone caught would be made to face the full wrath of the law,” the statement added.