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Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism and deep knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and market trends.
The federal government has outlined how Nigerians can identify genuine text messages relating to its N50,000 monthly cash support programme, warning beneficiaries against fraudsters seeking to exploit the initiative.
The government said legitimate SMS notifications would only come from the official sender names of five approved payment providers: ALAT by Wema Bank, MoMo PSB, NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint.
Beneficiaries have been advised to check the sender's name before responding to any message claiming to offer access to support.
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According to the guidelines, genuine messages will only ask recipients to reply YES or dial the designated USSD code provided by their payment service.
They will not contain links or request sensitive banking information.
The government outlined three checks Nigerians should carry out before responding to an SMS claiming to be connected to the programme.
If a message fails any of these checks, recipients should not respond. Instead, they should contact their payment provider's official help line to confirm its authenticity.
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The government stressed that the cash support programme is completely free and beneficiaries do not need to pay anyone to receive their money.
It also warned against sharing personal banking details, including PINs, one-time passwords, and account passwords, even with individuals claiming to be government officials or payment agents.
Recipients were further advised that they do not need to register, pay a fee or visit any government office to be selected for the programme.
The government urged Nigerians to stop and contact their payment providers whenever a message appears suspicious rather than risk losing money or compromising their accounts, Punch reports.
The warning comes amid concerns that fraudsters could exploit public interest in the N50,000 monthly support programme to send fake notifications and steal beneficiaries' financial information.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Moniepoint has clarified how the federal government obtains the phone numbers of Nigerians chosen to receive the N50,000 monthly cash support under the National Economic Recovery and Support Initiative (NERSI), as payment notifications begin reaching beneficiaries.
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According to the programme's guidelines, the government draws its list of beneficiaries from the National Social Register and verified national identity records.
Phone numbers linked to those records are then used to send SMS notifications to successful individuals, without any need for recipients to submit a separate application.
Source: Legit.ng
Dave Ibemere (Senior Business Editor) Dave Ibemere is a senior business editor at Legit.ng. He is a financial journalist with over a decade of experience in print and online media. He also holds a Master’s degree from the University of Lagos. Fellow, MTN Pan African Media Innovation(2026), Member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and other media think tank groups. He previously worked with The Guardian, BusinessDay, and headed the business desk at Ripples Nigeria. Email: [email protected].

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