IN SHORT: You can't earn money by advertising “company products” on your WhatsApp status. Don’t fall for this trick used by scammers on Facebook.
The Facebook account Mghülí Wå Üñgëm offers thousands of Kenyan shillings to those willing to advertise on WhatsApp.
The account does not specify which products it is advertising but asks Facebook users to comment with the word “add” to be enlisted.
One of its posts, dated 4 June 2023, reads: “Confirmed 29,000ksh zimeingia za Leo,,kazi ni kuadvertise company products Kwa Whatsapp status then unalipwa according to the number of viewers 1 view n 100bob,30 views ni 3000,malipo ni after every 24 hrs,kujeni tuunde school fees,,usihangaike na pesa ziko huku,Type Add nkuconnect.”
This mix of English and Kiswahili translates to: “Confirmed KSh29,000 meant for today has been deposited. The task is to advertise company products on your WhatsApp status, then you get paid according to the number of views it attracts. One view is KSh100 and 30 views is KSh3,000. Payment is after every 24 hours. Come, we make money for school fees. Don’t suffer while there’s money. Type ‘Add’, I connect you.”
The posts appear on a Facebook group with over 48,000 members. They have been posted on different dates here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
But are the offers legit? We checked.
Signs of a scam
The posts often include a screenshot, apparently of messages from users saying they have received their payments.
But the same screenshot is used in all the posts and there are no new messages from other users saying that they have received payments.
Besides, the same screenshot has been used by different scammers on Facebook. Africa Check has debunked similar scams using the same screenshot before.
The promise of awarding users such large amounts of cash just for posting on WhatsApp is too good to be true. The amount to be awarded does not match the simple effort required to earn it.
Africa Check previously inquired about the “job” in a similar ad before and we were told to pay a registration fee before proceeding.
Additionally, there are numerous complaints by Facebook users in the comment section that they have been scammed by the post. This is another sign the account is not to be trusted.
To help protect yourself against online fraudsters, read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.
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