The Facebook account Hon M Aishia Jumah is offering users loans of between KSh10,000 and KSh700,000.
The account describes itself as the “official account for cabinet Secretary ministry of public service, Gender and Affirmative action”. It uses photos of Kenyan politician Aisha Jumwa, the cabinet secretary for that portfolio.
One of the account’s posts, dated 23 August 2023, reads: “GET YOUR LOAN WITHIN 5MINUTES, IT IS LEGIT APPLY NOW. WHATSAPP NO.0757530321.”
The offers have been posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Users who have expressed interest are asked to start a private conversation on WhatsApp.
But is the account run by Jumwa and are the offers to be trusted? We checked.
Signs of a scam
The first hint that this is a fake account is that Jumwa’s name is spelled incorrectly – her name is “Aisha Jumwa” and not “Aishia Jumah”. Its posts, too, have grammatical errors. Poor spelling is often a clue that an account or page is an imposter.
The account sometimes claims the loans are from Inua Jamii, the Kenyan government programme that gives cash grants to poor and vulnerable people. “Inua Jamii” is Kiswahili for “uplift the community”.
“We have warned on several occasions Inua Jamii does not issue loans. Do not be conned into sending cash to any number in the name of processing fees,” the programme has clarified on its official Facebook page.
We also messaged the WhatsApp number provided and asked if we could get a loan. We were told that each loan amount has a “security fee” that should be paid upfront. This is a sign that the offers are a scam. Once the user pays the “security fee”, there is no loan deposited into their account.
Jumwa’s official Facebook page is verified and has over 269,000 followers. It features posts about her daily engagements and whereabouts.
Her page also makes no mention of any loan offers or promotions and publishes well-written messages without grammatical errors.
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