IN SHORT: Some Facebook pages claiming to represent a popular financial service app are offering loans to users. But we were asked for a “registration fee” to access the money, a sure sign of a scam.
The Facebook account OPay loan service is offering loans to Nigerians.
One of its posts, dated 22 August 2023, reads: “Do you need a loan to support you financially in your business, school, shop and more?”
The account uses the name and logo of OPay.
Similar loan offers have been made here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
OPay is a mobile-based platform offering financial services. It has over 35 million registered app users and 500,000 agents, according to its website.
But is the page and its loan offers legit? We checked.
Not company’s official Facebook page
The page transparency section of the Facebook page in question reveals that it was created in August 2023.
It has just over 10 followers and very little activity on its timeline for a company that is supposed to be catering to millions of customers.
Africa Check found OPay’s official Facebook page. By comparison, it was created in 2019 and has over 400,000 followers. It is also verified by Meta.
OPay’s website features links to its official social media accounts, including the verified Facebook page, but we could find no connection to the suspicious Facebook page.
Don’t be scammed!
We clicked on the WhatsApp link attached to the post and requested a loan. We were asked to provide our personal information, including our bank verification number (BVN). This is a unique identity number that can be verified by all banks in Nigeria to prevent identity theft and fraud.
We were told there was a registration fee required before we could be granted the loan. This is a tactic often used by scammers. Once users pay the “registration fee”, no money is deposited into their accounts. This is how the scammers make money from the scheme.
To help protect yourself against online scams, read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.
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