IN SHORT: Facebook users should be wary of offers that sound too good to be true. These Facebook accounts promising easy loans in the name of digital credit provider Zenka Kenya are not legitimate.
The Facebook accounts Zenka Loan, Zenka loan, Zenka Loan Cash, Zenka Loan and Zenka Loan are offering loans to Kenyans on Facebook.
These accounts use the name of Zenka, a digital credit provider operating in Kenya. Some even use the company’s logo.
A typical post from one of the accounts, dated 29 November 2023, reads: “Kama unataka loan sai kuanzia 5k upto 50k andika neno LOAN.”
The mix of English and Kiswahili translates to: “If you need a loan now from KSh5,000 up to KSh50,000 (about US$32 to $324) write the word loan.”
The offers have been posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
But are the offers legit? We checked.
Imposter accounts
While reputable financial institutions would normally have an official website or app where applications can be made, these accounts don’t link to any. This is unusual for any company claiming to be genuine.
We've also noticed that some of the accounts don't post the loan offers on their timelines, while others have unrelated content. Their posts are also poorly written and repeated on various public Facebook groups. This is uncharacteristic of social media accounts run by genuine organisations.
Zenka’s official Facebook page has over 64,000 followers and includes the company’s website www.zenka.co.ke. The contact phone number on the website is 020 765 0878 and does not match any of the numbers used by the Facebook accounts in question.
In addition, the official page does not post loan offers similar to those of the fake accounts.
According to Zenka, users who need loans should download the company's app on their smartphones. They then register their details and apply for the amount they need. Contrary to the posts on the bogus accounts, Zenka loans are not applied for via WhatsApp.
All signs point to fake Facebook accounts with scam offers.
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