IN SHORT: Many young Kenyans make a living as motorbike taxi drivers. This makes them easy prey for impostors who use the names of legitimate institutions to trick them into buying bikes. Steer clear of these fake accounts.
The Facebook account Mwananchi Loan is offering motorbikes on credit in Kenya.
The account uses the logo of Mwananchi Credit Limited, a Kenyan financial institution, as its profile picture.
A poorly written post on the account, dated 24 January 2024, reads: “Deposit KSh10,000 only and we give you a BRAND NEW motorbike in a good condition pay us in instalments 250 daily for 18 months ,we need KRA,ID,One guarantor and the deposit call or WhatsApp 0789497318 Let's communicate on whatsapp.”
To get the bikes, applicants have to send their identity documents, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) details and a person to guarantee the loan.
The motorbike taxi industry provides an income for many young people in Kenya. But is the Facebook account run by Mwananchi Credit? We checked.
Clues of a scam
The account’s posts contain grammatical errors, odd punctuation, misspellings and randomly capitalised words. This is the first red flag.
A genuine financial institution would normally link to a website or an app from its social media accounts and list an address. But the Facebook account in question hasn’t done any of this, which is suspicious.
The account lists two phone numbers for the applications – 0789497318 and 0100878928. But these numbers are not listed on Mwananchi’s official website.
The company previously told Africa Check that its official contact number was 0709147000. This number is still available on the website.
Mwananchi Credit Limited previously told Africa Check that they “don't offer loans against motorbike’s logbooks, sell motorbikes or even asset finance them”.
The account in question is run by an impostor and its offers should be ignored.
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