Scam! Mozida Foundation scholarship is not known in Bolivia!.

 After verification, this foundation is not known in Bolivia.

Context and claim 

On January 1, 2024, an X page (formerly Twitter) "Mozida Foundation" with over 1,400 followers posted a scholarship opportunity on a flyer captioned "Applications have now commenced for the Mozida Master Scholarship 2024 for African students to study in Bolivia...".

Attached to the post was a link to the website of the fake Mozida Foundation (http://www.mozidafoundation.org). The same post was uploaded on their Facebook page with over 1.700 followers.

The flyer containing information for the supposed scholarship opportunity was then shared by several opportunity and scholarship pages like Opportunity Desk, who have over 240 thousand followers on Facebook and X (Twitter).

Every year, several Africans especially youth are struggling to leave the continent through scholarships and job opportunities to Europe and the United States of America. 

It is good to always verify and double check such opportunities before venturing into, because if not verified, can lead to scams and exposure of personal information and data to untrusted sites.

Verification process

To verify this opportunity, I first assessed the social media handles of the "Mozida Foundation". While on Facebook, I discovered that the page has no post, but has a follower of over 1.700. 

While on X (Twitter), I discovered that the handle has just a single post, dated January 1, 2024. Though the page shows it was created far back in 2013.

I then assessed the website provided on the page. While on the website, I did not find any location or phone contact of the said foundation. The only contact there was an email.

The design of the website looks suspicious. Though they claim on the website to have been providing charity and help to Africans in domains like health and scholarships for over two decades. No pictures, videos or credible data was found on the website about their past activities.

I proceeded with a thorough search on Facebook and X (Twitter) typing "Mozida Foundation scholarship" and I saw recent posts advising those who received the supposed scholarship not to pay a dime. Opportunity Desk posted "If you recently received a scholarship offer from Mozida Foundation, read this:

This appears to be a scam opportunity. No university or scholarship awarding organization would request for payment after awarding you a scholarship. The only payment you might make is an application fee at the point of applying for admission. Apart from this, no other payment should be required for you to secure the scholarship. Please disregard and do not make any payment. This is our advice".

When I contacted Ismael from Benin who commented on the post that he has already paid the sum of 240 US dollar (approximately 146,000 FCFA) as requested by the foundation in order for him to get his admission letter, he told me the letter looks suspicious! 

He told me that he and about 230 others who received the said offer are in a WhatsApp forum and some of them have already paid the money.

I asked if he could share the name of the institution and other details. The said school "Universidad Technologica Juan Misael Saracho (UTJMS), Bolivia (New Campus)" as outlined on his admission letter is not found on Google and any social media platforms. What I saw was (Universidad Autonoma Juan Misael Saracho) which is quite different from what is on the admission letter.

The Universidad Autonoma Juan Misael Saracho website and social media handles does not have any information about the said foundation and scholarship.

I then emailed the said foundation, pretending to be one of the beneficiaries of the said scholarship. I told them that I wanted to pay to accept the offer and get my admission letter. They gave me a payment method bearing a Cameroonian name! (Erick Ezike Kome).

I also proceeded to contact the lone Bolivia Embassy in Africa, which is located in Egypt. When I emailed them to verify about the said foundation and scholarship opportunity, they responded

"We are writing to inform you that we have no prior knowledge or record of the mentioned foundation and the scholarship opportunity associated with the specified university".

I also contacted a friend in India to find out about the scholarship and information about the foundation at the embassy. This is the response "we regret to inform you that Mozida Foundation is not accredited. Based on this information, we recommend ceasing any payments or procedures involving them…"

Verdict

After several verifications, I can confirm that the Mozida Foundation is fake and the scholarship opportunity is a scam initiative circulating on social media to extort money from Africans, who are vulnerable and eager to venture for scholarship opportunities out of Africa.

By Mboh Promise, 

The Guardian Post, Cameroon