IN SHORT: Digital lending platforms are becoming popular among Kenyans looking for instant loans. But borrowers should be wary of the growing number of scammers posing as digital lenders.
The Facebook page Fuliza Loans is offering Kenyans instant loans of up to KSh100,000 (about US$757).
The page uses the logos of Kenya’s financial institutions, including KCB bank and Mwananchi Credit Limited. It also uses the logo of M-Shwari – a mobile product created through a partnership between M-Pesa and NCBA Bank. M-Pesa is a mobile financial service by Kenya’s largest telecoms company, Safaricom.
The page claims to pay out loans in just three minutes, and says the application process is as simple as sending the word “LOAN” to the phone number “0755332646”.
Desperate users have flooded the comments section of the page’s posts, asking how they can access the loans.
The ads have also been posted here and here.
But is the page and its posts to be trusted? We checked.
Fake Facebook page and offers
Africa Check noticed that the page used the logos of several financial institutions to carry out its activities. This is the first red flag as each of these institutions has its own social media pages. It is also unlikely that a genuine company would use the logos of other companies to run its own business.
A legit financial institution would normally link to a website or an app from its social media accounts and list an address. But the Facebook page in question hasn’t done any of this, which is also suspicious.
This page relies on unbranded and poorly designed graphics to advertise the offers. Reputable institutions tend to have professionally designed graphics that use the company’s logo and colours. This helps to identify them as legitimate businesses.
The page lists the phone number – 0755332646 – for applications. But the number is not listed on the websites of the companies whose logos have been used.
The page in question is run by an impostor and its loan offers should be ignored.
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