A scam Facebook page notorious for inviting users to apply for fake loans from the Kenya Women Microfinance Bank (KWFT) is at it again.
Posts on the “KWFT LOANS KE” page link to a Google Form where users are required to fill in an application form to access the loans. Loans of up to KSh80,000 are offered, which can supposedly be repaid “within 6 months with an interest rate of 6.5% p.a,” – and approval “takes 10 minutes”.
But there’s a catch.
The registration procedure requires people to send KSh330 to “Madam Mary Nyaga”, the “loan trustee agent officer”, via M-Pesa mobile money transfer.
This is a tired old scam Africa Check has debunked hundreds of times before. And we’ve recently exposed several other Facebook pages that fraudulently offer nonexistent loans from KWFT.
Africa Check contacted KWFT to ask about the page.
“KWFT wishes to warn the public about fraudulent activities on Facebook and social media being perpetrated purportedly in the name of the Institution,” the bank told us.
“Online accounts calling themselves KWFT LOANS KE, KWFT Bank Loans Kenya, KWFT Online Loans or KWFT LOAN being circulated via the Facebook social media platform and from internet websites are fraudulent, falsely stating that they are issuing loans in association with KWFT.”
To help protect yourself and others against scams like this, see Africa Check’s guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them. – Grace Gichuhi
Posts on the “KWFT LOANS KE” page link to a Google Form where users are required to fill in an application form to access the loans. Loans of up to KSh80,000 are offered, which can supposedly be repaid “within 6 months with an interest rate of 6.5% p.a,” – and approval “takes 10 minutes”.
But there’s a catch.
The registration procedure requires people to send KSh330 to “Madam Mary Nyaga”, the “loan trustee agent officer”, via M-Pesa mobile money transfer.
This is a tired old scam Africa Check has debunked hundreds of times before. And we’ve recently exposed several other Facebook pages that fraudulently offer nonexistent loans from KWFT.
‘Fraudulent activities on Facebook’
Africa Check contacted KWFT to ask about the page.
“KWFT wishes to warn the public about fraudulent activities on Facebook and social media being perpetrated purportedly in the name of the Institution,” the bank told us.
“Online accounts calling themselves KWFT LOANS KE, KWFT Bank Loans Kenya, KWFT Online Loans or KWFT LOAN being circulated via the Facebook social media platform and from internet websites are fraudulent, falsely stating that they are issuing loans in association with KWFT.”
To help protect yourself and others against scams like this, see Africa Check’s guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them. – Grace Gichuhi
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