Fake NERSI ₦50,000 messages: 5 checks to run before you tap anything

Messages about the ₦50,000 relief payment are circulating, and so are fakes. The Federal Government has urged Nigerians to verify any NERSI message before acting on it, and OPay and Moniepoint have published their own warnings. This guide pulls those checks into five steps you can run in a minute. Sources describe the programme's full name differently, so we use the short name NERSI throughout.

What is a genuine NERSI payment?

According to Legit.ng's report on the government's advice, the programme is managed by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction. Selected beneficiaries receive ₦50,000 directly in a mobile wallet, with no service charge or administrative fee, so the full amount reaches the wallet.

The same report stresses that checking your eligibility does not guarantee payment. Disbursement depends on beneficiary selection and verification. Anyone who promises you a slot, or says they can "register" you for a fee, is not speaking for the programme.

How to check if a NERSI message is fake: 5 steps

Step 1: Check which platform it came from

The government's advice is that a genuine message must come from one of five approved platforms: ALAT, MoMo, NairaGram, OPay or Moniepoint, as listed in the Legit.ng report. OPay's warning lists the same partners, naming ALAT by Wema Bank and MoMo PSB. A message that arrives on WhatsApp, Facebook or from an unknown number is not one of them.

Step 2: Look at what it asks you to do

A genuine message should only ask you to reply "YES" or to dial your mobile provider's USSD code, according to the same advice. If it asks you to open a website, download an app or forward the message to friends, treat it as suspect.

Step 3: Look for the four red flags

A genuine message will never ask for money, a PIN, a one-time password (OTP) or a link to be clicked. OPay and Moniepoint list the same red flags:

• Anyone asking you to pay an agent, a fee or an activation charge.
• Requests for your PIN, OTP, password or other confidential banking details.
• Unsolicited links, especially from people offering NERSI registration.
• Anyone pretending to be a government official, a payment provider or a programme agent.

If a message fails any one of these checks, do not reply. Call a helpline to confirm it before taking any action.

Step 4: Verify through the wallet itself

Use only your payment provider's official app and verified USSD codes. OPay says eligible customers get a pop-up notification on the app homepage and can check on 95520#. It adds that OPay does not decide who is eligible, so a customer who cannot see the NERSI feature in the app is not on the current selection.

Moniepoint says SMS notifications it sends to selected beneficiaries are genuine, and that selected customers can claim by dialling 557327#. The Legit.ng article prints that code in two different formats, so confirm the exact code through Moniepoint's own channels before dialling it.

Step 5: Call the official helpline

The official NERSI website gives a helpline number: 0700-022-2222. It also lists the partners ALAT, MoMo and NairaGram, and has sections titled "Stay safe" and "FAQs". Type the address in yourself rather than following a link from a message. The pages are offered in English, Hausa, Igbo, Yorùbá and Pidgin.

What should I do if I already clicked or shared my details?

The sources we reviewed do not describe a separate reporting channel for NERSI scams, only the helpline for suspicious messages. Pulse cannot verify a recovery process that the official pages do not publish, so we will not invent one. The sensible general steps are to contact your bank or wallet provider through the number on your card or inside its official app, and to change any PIN or password you shared. Providers say they will never ask for those details.

What if my friend says they were paid but I was not?

Selection is not the same for everyone. Because OPay says it does not determine eligibility, and because the government says payment depends on beneficiary selection and verification, it is normal for one person to see the feature and another not to. Do not pay anyone to "fix" your status, and do not hand your wallet over to an agent who claims to have a back channel. If you are unsure, use the helpline above and your own provider's official app, and ignore anyone who contacts you first.

Why do these scams work?

Fake relief offers borrow the look of a real programme, and people are hoping for the money. Africa Check notes that scams often claim to be official government relief funds, grants or palliatives. The defence is the same each time: real payments arrive in your own wallet and never need you to pay or hand over a code first.

Information was correct as of 9 November 2026. Programme rules, USSD codes and helplines can change, so check the official NERSI site before you act.