IN SHORT: Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission is not running a free business name registration promotion. Ignore messages asking you to “drop” your Whatsapp number.
Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is responsible for registering businesses in the country. It’s now doing this for free – at least that’s the claim circulating on Facebook in November 2023.
One message reads: “IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THE FG.CAC REGISTRATION (COOPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION).KINDLY DROP YOUR WHATSAPP NUMBER REGISTRATION ARE ONGOING NOW AND FREE.”
A screenshot of what appears to be the commission's business name registration form is attached.
The message was also posted on Facebook here and here. Some social media users shared their numbers in the comments section.
Africa Check previously found a similar claim – that Nigeria’s federal government had approved free registration by the commission for businesses and the self-employed – to be false.
Has there been any change?
Disregard message, says commission
On 7 November, the commission warned Nigerians.
“Please disregard any SMS or WhatsApp message asking you to enrol for free CAC registration, as it is not from us! Thank you,” it tweeted.
Social media posts that ask for your personal information expose you in a number of ways. These can include:
- Unwanted contact from strangers, including harassment.
- Unsolicited or spam calls and messages.
- Phishing attacks.
- Identity theft.
- Social engineering attacks, where others can be tricked into using your number to access your information.
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