IN SHORT: Two Facebook pages promise users instant loans of different amounts. But both are run by a scammer who’s after your hard-earned cash.
The Facebook pages MPESA business LOANs and Kenyan Financial Support offer instant loans to Kenyans.
“Giving out loans. How much loan do you need? I'll send it immediately but please be honest to pay back,” reads a typical message on one of the pages.
Interested users are asked to contact the pages via WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger and tell them how much money they need to borrow.
The pages have attracted multiple enquiries from users. Their posts have been flagged by Facebook as potentially false.
But are the pages and the offers legit? We checked.
Registration fee scam
We noticed that each of the alleged businesses on the pages had no branding. This means they lack key elements, such as a logo and colours, that would normally identify a legitimate business. This is a sign that they may be fake.
Their adverts are poorly written, repetitive and use similar graphics. Legitimate financial organisations invest in adverts that are well-written and have creatively designed graphics.
The pages also ask users to make their loan applications via WhatsApp. However, we noticed that despite having different names, both pages use the same WhatsApp number, which is suspicious. This suggests that they are run by the same person.
Genuine organisations have unique contact details. They also tend to have an official page through which they conduct their activities.
The two pages do not have a website or app where customers can further engage and transact. This is another red flag.
We contacted one of the pages and asked for a loan. We were told to pay a registration fee of KSh150. This is a clear indication that these are scam pages, as genuine organisations rarely ask for an upfront fee before granting loans.
The Facebook pages in question are probably run by the same person and their offers are fake.
Republish our content for free
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
Add new comment