Claim: Ghanaian Telcos are giving free 50GB data and GH¢200 to Ghanaians for Ghana’s 2025 Independence Day
Source: WhatsApp message
Verdict: HOAX
Researched by Samuel Nii Adjetey
A WhatsApp message with a phishing link claimed that telecom companies, including MTN, GLO, TIGO, AIRTEL, and VODAFONE, are giving away 50GB of free data and GH¢200 airtime to commemorate Ghana’s 2025 Independence Day celebrations.
The post encourages users to click a link to claim the offer before March 31, 2025.
A screengrab of the post in circulation
This fact-check report seeks to verify the authenticity of the claim.
Fact-check
GhanaFact ran a step-by-step analysis of the link attached to the WhatsApp message to test the process of retrieving the promised data and the amount of money.
Initial access to the link provided in the WhatsApp showed that the website is no longer functional.
A screengrab of the result from tapping on the link
To investigate the URL, GhanaFact used an archiving tool, archive.fo, to check if there was a website with the same URL on the platform.
GhanaFact searched through archive.fo for an archive of the phishing link but found no results.
However, a similar link (newyr-gift.org, archived here) was displayed on the platform.
An analysis of the website showed a form with the inscription, Welcome to UNICEF Portal together with a form requiring users to input their details (written in French); Prenom (First name), Nom de famille (name of Family or Surname), and other personal details.
GhanaFact noted that the features on the application form are similar to other phishing links previously analysed in our recent reports. One such website is a link that claimed candidate John Mahama was distributing free GH¢500 as campaign funds during the 2024 election period. Find our report on it here.
The suspicious link was further ran through virustotal.com, a security website that scans links and files for malicious codes. The scan classified the link as malicious and phishing.
Proofpoint.com defines phishing as “a common type of cyber attack that targets individuals through email, text messages, phone calls, and other forms of communication.
“A phishing attack aims to trick the recipient into falling for the attacker’s desired action, such as revealing financial information, system login credentials, or other sensitive information,” it adds.
WHOIS information of the domain (https://newyr-gift.org/ghana-at68) reveals that the website was registered on December 31, 2024, updated on January 5, 2025, and set to expire in December 2025.
The registrars of the domain employed the services of privacyguardian.org to hide their original information: a usual modus operandi of malicious website operators.
GhanaFact’s additional checks revealed that none of the official communication channels (social media and website) of the major telecom companies in Ghana—MTN, GLO, AIRTEL TIGO, and VODAFONE—have posted information about the distribution of free 50 GB data and GH¢200 to Ghanaians.
Verdict
Therefore, the link is phishing, and the WhatsApp message is a HOAX.
