UN Namibia warns against scams

The United Nations System in Namibia (UN Namibia) has fell prey to fraudsters recently and were implicated in several identity fraud cases in Windhoek, according to an official.

UN Department of Safety and Security, official, Johnny Katzao on Friday in a statement said fraudsters have been pretending to be representatives of UN agencies like WHO and UNDP, and have targeted individuals and business requesting money and detailed information with the promises of funds or other benefits in return.

“Others ask for registration fees for conferences allegedly sponsored by UN agencies and for hotel reservations, again with the promise of certain benefits. Another type of scam proposes employment opportunities with UN agencies,” he added.

According to him the scams sometimes carry the UN logo, or logos of agencies of the UN System, and originate from or refer to e-mail addresses made to look like an agency or UN address.

Katzao warned Namibians not to fall prey to the misleading practices as they do not originate from UN Namibia and are not in any way associated with UN Namibia’s projects or events.

Furthermore he recommended recipients of such solicitations verify carefully their authenticity before sending any response.

Katzao said financial loss and identity theft can result from the transfer of money or personal information to those issuing such fraudulent correspondence and UN Namibia will not be responsible for any such loss or theft.