The United Nations (UN) System in Namibia (UN Namibia) would like to warn the Namibian public to beware of scams implying association with UN Namibia and its agencies and/or its programmes. Recently, UN Namibia’s name was implicated in several identity fraud cases in Windhoek with fraudsters pretending to be representatives of UN agencies, namely the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Scams request detailed information and/or money from individuals, businesses or nonprofit organizations with the promise that the victims will receive 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. These 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. UN Namibia wishes to warn the public of these misleading practices that do not originate from UN Namibia and are not, in any way associated with UN Namibia’s projects or events. UN Namibia strongly recommends that recipients of such solicitations verify carefully their authenticity before sending any response. In light of this, UN Namibia would like to request the Namibian public to alert UN Namibia by bringing suspect communications to our attention. UN Namibia and all its agencies would like to assure the Namibian public that:

•UN Namibia never asks for money for recruitment
•UN Namibia does not charge a fee at any stage of its procurement process
•UN Namibia does not charge registration fees for conferences or meetings
•UN Namibia does not request or issue personal bank checks or any other type of money transfer at any stage of its procurement / recruitment process
•UN Namibia does not request any information related to bank accounts or other private information prior to formal registration as a vendor
•UN Namibia does not offer prizes, awards, funds, certificates, scholarships or conduct lotteries through telephone, e-mail, mail or fax.

Financial loss and identity theft can result from the transfer of money or personal information to those issuing such fraudulent correspondence. UN Namibia is not responsible for any such loss or theft. Individuals suspicious of a scam are encouraged to report suspect communications to the United Nations Department of Safety and Security in Namibia (+264 61 2046111 / +264 81 1274629 / johnny.katzao@undss.org) or to visit the UN House in Klein Windhoek, Namibia to verify claims. Victims of scams may also wish to report them to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.