False! GOIL, World Food Programme not offering anniversary and cash gifts

This website is promoting anniversary gifts supposedly to mark the 64th anniversary of Goil. According to the link, which is being shared on WhatsApp platforms, participants have the chance to win up to GHC 9,368. 

To win this and other prizes, participants are required to answer four questions about whether they know Goil, their age, how good they think Goil is and whether they are male or female.

After answering the questions, a congratulatory message appears, followed by gift boxes. A participant is expected to select a box and claim the gift in the box if there is one.

Participants are given up to four chances to select a box. When a box that has a gift is selected, another congratulatory message appears, disclosing the amount you have won.

Underneath the page that comes with the congratulatory message, several people posted comments about the prizes they had won through the promo, ostensibly to give it a touch of credibility.

One of the comments by Vicky Nuel read: “I thought it was a joke but I got a 64-anniversary gift! So surprised! GOIL is the best company I have ever seen!” Another one by DlaminiNdlovu read: “Thanks to this event. I won a gift and I can buy a lot of things I want.” At the time of filing this report, there were 183 of such comments.

Fact-check Ghana has verified the claim and presents the facts as follows.

The team followed the instructions on the website and answered all four questions. After two unsuccessful attempts, a box with a prize was selected and a congratulatory message appeared indicating that an amount of GHC 9, 368 had been won.

To claim the gift one is supposed to share the message with five groups or 20 people on WhatsApp which is typical of hoax websites.

Further, Fact-check Ghana visited the website of Goil to verify if there is any such gift announcement on the site. The team could not find any such advert.

On the website Goil issued a disclaimer, describing the website that is advertising the gift promotion as fictitious.

The statement urged the general public to “disregard such messages as they are not coming from the company.”

Based on the above facts, it is clear that the gift promo is a hoax.

A similar website is advertising a cash support scheme purportedly by the World Food Program. The link which is also being shared on WhatsApp platforms says the World Food Programme is providing cash assistance and one stands a chance of getting GHC 9,368, same amount as seen in the fictitious Goil ‘Anniversary’ gift promo.

Here applicants are also required to answer the following questions:

“Do you know World Food Programme? How old are you? How do you think of World Food Programme [sic] and Are you male or female?”

About 183 comments, the same number of comments in the Goil ‘Anniversary’ gift promo, appear below the page.

After successfully answering the questions a congratulatory message appears with gift boxes. To win a prize a participant must select the correct gift box.

When the correct gift box is selected, the prize is revealed. However, to claim the prize you are required to share the link to five WhatsApp groups or 20 individuals. This is similar to the Goil ‘Anniversary’ gift promo and typical of hoax websites.

Also, on the website of the World Food Programme, there is no such scheme being run.

In conclusion, the two links being shared on WhatsApp platforms announcing gift and cash assistance are fictitious.