Ebrahim Moosa – Radio Islam | 20 Jumadal Ukhra 1438/19 March 2017

The Al Imdaad Foundation has urged the community to exercise vigilance after the mass dissemination of hoax sms’ in the organisation’s name.

On Sunday afternoon, poorly worded messages bearing the Al Imdaad name suggested that signing up to a website called Somalia.cf would result in the South African headquartered NGO donating $2 to the Somalia food crisis for every subscriber added.

A click on the url in question directed to an unprofessional website where users were encouraged to sign up to watch free football for seven rands(or rupees) a day.

This “is a scam, and Al Imdaad Foundation is not associated with this in any way whatsoever. We urge all recipients not to respond or subscribe,” the organisation has cautioned.

Al Imdaad National Co-ordinator Yacoob Vahed said they were unsure who was involved or how the message was sent out.

Vahed added that the organisation’s IT department was investigating the matter.

With the Horn of Africa nation teetering on the brink of a devastating famine, Al Imdaad – through its official channels – launched an emergency appeal on March 8 to address the dire food security situation in Somalia.

As the risk of famine and its impact on children in particular appear more acute, the organisation has pledged to escalate relief efforts in coming days.