Fake NERSI ₦50,000 message: 5 tins to check before you press anything

Message about di ₦50,000 relief payment dey waka everywhere, and fake ones dey among dem. Di Federal Government don tell Nigerians make dem verify any NERSI message before dem act, and OPay and Moniepoint don put out dia own warning. Wetin follow na di checks for simple Pidgin. Sources no dey call di programme di same full name, so we dey use di short name NERSI.

Wetin be real NERSI payment?

Based on Legit.ng report of di government advice, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction dey run di programme. Dem go send di ₦50,000 straight to di beneficiary mobile wallet. Dem say no service charge or admin fee dey, so di full money go reach di wallet.

Di same report talk say if dem check your eligibility, e no mean say dem go pay you. Payment dey depend on who dem select and verify. Anybody wey tell you say e fit put your name for fee, no be for di programme.

How to know fake NERSI message: 5 steps

Step 1: Check where e come from. Government say real message must come from one of five platforms: ALAT, MoMo, NairaGram, OPay or Moniepoint, as Legit.ng report list am. If e come from WhatsApp, Facebook or number wey you no know, na wahala.

Step 2: Check wetin e dey ask you do. Real message go only ask you reply "YES" or dial your network USSD code. If e say make you open website, download app or forward am to your people, no do am.

Step 3: Look for di four red flags. OPay and Moniepoint talk say dem no dey ask for money, PIN, OTP or password. Watch out for:

• Person wey say make you pay agent, fee or activation charge.
• Person wey dey ask for your PIN, OTP or password.
• Link wey person send you wey you no ask for.
• Person wey dey pretend say dem be government official or payment company.

Step 4: Check inside your wallet. OPay talk say people wey dem select go see pop-up for di app homepage, and you fit check eligibility with 95520#. If you no see di NERSI feature for your OPay app, dem never select you for now. Moniepoint talk say SMS wey dem send to selected customers na real, and say dem go claim with USSD code wey dem send. Legit.ng write di Moniepoint code two different ways, so confirm di exact one from Moniepoint before you dial.

Step 5: Call di official helpline. Di official NERSI website put 0700-022-2222 as helpline. Type di web address yourself, no follow link from message. Di site dey available for English, Hausa, Igbo, Yorùbá and Pidgin.

Wetin make I do if I don click link or share my details?

Di sources wey we check no show any special NERSI place to report scam, only di helpline. We no go invent one. Di normal thing na to call your bank or wallet company with di number for your card or inside dia real app, and change any PIN or password wey you share. Dem say dem no dey ever ask for dose ones.

Information correct as of 9 November 2026. Rules, USSD codes and helplines fit change, so check di official NERSI site before you act.