How to avoid scams and deception with Solidarity Income in Colombia

( Spanish) — Solidarity Income is a program that was created in 2020, within the framework of the covid-19 pandemic, and establishes monetary transfers for families with limited economic resources.

Being a social program that gives money to the most vulnerable families in the country, unfortunately some seek to take advantage in the midst of need. That is why it is necessary to be careful to avoid fraud and deception by third parties.

Here are some tips to avoid scams with Solidarity Income

• You do not need to enroll in the program. If you are a beneficiary, the Government will tell
• You do not need intermediaries
• The money will arrive in your bank account, Nequi, Daviplata, if you are banked
• If you do not have bank accounts, a message will arrive on your cell phone and you can claim the money at a physical SuperGiros point with an ID or original document

It is not necessary to register for Solidarity Income

Solidarity Income beneficiaries do not need to enroll in the program. The State itself will select them based on the Sisbén IV system.

“The Solidarity Income Program does not handle registrations or raffles of any kind. The selection of potential beneficiaries is made through the information registered in Sisbén,” says the Department of Social Prosperity.

The Government of Colombia chooses the beneficiaries of Solidarity Income taking into account the Sisbén group information and the number of members of each household. The Sisbén is a state survey to find out the socioeconomic conditions of families and classifies them by “their ability to generate income and quality of life,” according to the National Planning Department (DPN) of Colombia.

How do I know if I am a Solidarity Income beneficiary?

Entering and registering on the website of the Department of Social Prosperity with your identity card number, you will be able to know your Sisbén IV classification and consult information on transfers and beneficiaries.

You do not need an intermediary to be a beneficiary of the social program.

How to claim the money?

Once you confirm that you are a Solidarity Income beneficiary on the program’s official page, you do not need to request your money with any formalities. You can claim your subscriptions through digital wallets or money orders, regardless of whether or not you have a bank account.

Each financial institution will send subsidy holders a text message to inform them of the solidarity income resources, according to the Department of Social Prosperity (DSP).

To register in applications such as Daviplata or Nequi, you must download the application on your cell phone and follow the steps to register as a user.

For people who have bank accounts and who have used it in the last six months, “the resources will be paid by the financial institution where they are a client,” says the DPS guide.

If you do not have bank accounts, the transfers will be made by SuperGiros and claim the money with your citizenship or foreign identification number if the draft is available.

What happens if you change banks?

In the event that the payment is reassigned to another bank, it is necessary to enter the Solidarity Income page, go to the “Inquiry of beneficiary” menu, at the top right of the page, authenticate with the document number and start session.

What happens if you change your phone number?

As the holders’ telephone numbers are key to communicating and reporting the status of the money orders, the DPN says that it works with different “organizations and data sources” to locate you and contact you to receive financial aid. However, the DPN urges people to periodically consult the Solidarity Income page through which you can also communicate with information channels.

Households that have not received some of the Solidarity Income transfers, but are potential beneficiaries, will be able to claim the accumulated transfers, according to the DPN.

Will Solidarity Income continue during the Petro government?

Petro’s government team recently said that it has the “will” to do so, but “but as they leave us the budget project, then this program would be underfunded,” said Daniel Rojas, coordinator of President Gustavo Petro’s splicing team, during the presentation of his final report a few days after Petro’s inauguration as president of Colombia.

At the end of his government, outgoing President Iván Duque said that his administration would leave “the guaranteed budget for next 2023. We want that social policy to continue in our country.” But the Petro joint team said that the resources for this program are not contemplated in the budget corresponding to 2023, so the resources must come from the tax reform presented by the Petro government.

— With information from Melissa Velásquez and Ángela Reyes Haczek of en Español.