IN SHORT: It was a scam then and it’s a scam now. These Facebook accounts are using the name of Chymall Investment, an old ponzi scheme that no longer exists.
"Don't let the fear of losing greater than than the chances of winning, Payment duration is 45minutes to 2 hours irrespective of the investment package you registered with ... How do you know how legit it is without trying it out?" reads a post by the Facebook page Chymall Investment Platform.
The post, dated 17 June 2023, says the platform is newly “enlisted” and aimed at helping Nigerian citizens.
It includes a video of popular Nollywood actors Kanayo Kanayo and John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu. Okafor calls on users to invest in the platform. The video has been viewed more than 1,500 times.
We also found similar posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Like many similar schemes we’ve debunked, this post also includes a WhatsApp link, where people are encouraged to register. The account has added more videos of individuals talking about the platform in the comment section.
But is this another scam? We checked.
Chymall in the news
Africa Check found that a business by the name Chymall, sometimes called Chy Mall, existed in Nigeria, Ghana and other African countries. It was an e-commerce platform that promised investors that they would earn their money back every 10 days.
In 2021, Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime office (EOCO) called on the public to stop investing in Chymall, saying it was a ponzi scheme.
A ponzi scheme is a type of fraud, similar to a pyramid scheme, where initial investors are paid from the money newer investors put in. The payments usually dry up when not enough new investors can be recruited.
Several blogs reported on how Chymall was scamming Nigerians. Some Facebook accounts are now using the name of the now-defunct business to entice people.
Signs of a scam
The poorly written posts are one clue that the Facebook page is a scam. We would expect a legitimate investment platform to communicate professionally, with good command of the English language.
The page uses the name and logo of Chymall, but the platform ceased to exist in 2021.
The page only has 18 followers and is not verified by Meta. This also follows the pattern of previous scams we've uncovered.
Africa Check has previously investigated similar false investment schemes here and here.
To help protect yourself against online scams, read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.
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