I found something interesting in IVerify - Scam Alert! Purpoted “America Visa Lottery 2023” circulating advert not from the US Embassy

Scam Alert! Purpoted “America Visa Lottery 2023” circulating advert not from the US Embassy

False

iVerify Zambia established that the link and website purported to have originated from the American Embassy is a scam and a source of disinformation. The fraudulent website, “https://bit-ely.com/AMERICA-VISA-APPLICATION,” aimed to deceive users by collecting confidential information. The official American Embassy website, for visa services is “https://zm.usembassy.gov/visas/” and “https://zm.usembassy.gov/visas/important-visa-information/#application,” for accurate and reliable information on visa applications.

# # # # #
Verified Jul, 12 2023

Claim

On Thursday, July 6, 2023, a link claiming to originate from the United States of America (USA) Embassy in Zambia was received by iVerify Zambia through its WhatsApp platform. The link, titled “AMERICA Visa Lottery 2023,” was for an announcement that encouraged the public to participate in the American Visa Lottery Application for the year 2023. When clicked, the link redirected users to a Google web page displaying a 404 error, indicating that the intended web page could not be found. The page appeared blank, raising public concern about the legitimacy of the purported USA Embassy advertisement.

Rating Justification

iVerify Zambia has determined as false a link and advertisement purported to be from the American Embassy in Zambia, encouraging people to apply for an American VISA Lottery 2023. iVerify Zamba examined the link https://bit-ely.com/AMERICA-VISA-APPLICATION which when clicked had an error 404, an indication that the domain requested was reached but access to the web page was broken. The web page domain name did not match the official VISA website page for the USA Embassy, which is https://zm.usembassy.gov/visas/. A further check on the Embassy website revealed that the VISA SERVICES website page did not have an advertisement for a Visa Lottery application for 2023. Therefore, the link https://bit-ely.com/AMERICA-VISA-APPLICATION and the advertisement for America Visa Lottery 2023 are fake. Accurate and reliable information about visa application procedures can be accessed from the official USA Embassy website page: https://zm.usembassy.gov/visas/important-visa-information/#application in Zambia.

Evidence and References

Articles build on this verification


Journalist Name

Story hyperlink

OUR PARTNERS

  • We work to ensure that information is effectively used to foster development by empowering communities to shape their own agenda…

    Panos

  • Bloggers of Zambia is an emerging, independent and non-profit enterprise working in Internet Governance and Digital Rights, Media Rights and Freedoms and Online Creative Content Management.

    Bloggers of Zambia

    Bloggers of Zambia

  • MISA Zambia is a membership driven organisation that believes in freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom as functions of good governance.

    MISA Zambia