IN SHORT: A Facebook post offers to double users' money with the suspiciously simply named “Global Trading Investment Platform”. But there is no such investment platform in Nigeria and this is yet another attempt to steal from unsuspecting Nigerians.
"Good morning friends I want to testify to you a platform called GLOBAL TRADE INVESTMENT PLATFORM it's newly out currently empowering Citizens I also invested on it and I have been credited this is my payment prove it really paying on ooo if you are interested Click on the link below for registration," reads a post on Facebook.
The 3 August 2023 post includes a link where it says “registration is still ongoing”, as well as a WhatsApp link. The post shares similarities with several investment schemes targeting Nigerians which Africa Check has debunked.
The post has over 60 comments, including the comments of the user. Africa Check also found accounts posting similar posts on their timelines, showing interest in the “Global Trade Investment Platform”.
We also found similar posts here, here, here, here, here and here.
But is this scheme another investment scam? We checked.
A common investment scam on Facebook
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission warned Nigerians about investing in businesses offering unrealistic returns in a tweet in 2022.
The suspicious post asks users to send messages to the WhatsApp link attached in the post. This is a common red flag for fake investment opportunities that are out to take your money.
Africa Check also searched for “Global Trade Investment Platform” in the country’s business register and found several businesses with “Global Trade Investment Platform” in their names, but no businesses identifying exactly as “Global Trade Investment Platform”. This makes it very unlikely that these offers are legitimate.
Africa Check has previously investigated similar false investment schemes here here and here.
To help protect yourself against online scams, read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them. You can also read our guide to spotting investment scams on Facebook.
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