IN SHORT: Generous loans for people wanting to enter Kenya’s motorbike taxi industry? If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. The Facebook page impersonates a real credit company, and is just another scam.
The Kenya-based Facebook page “mwananchi Credit Campany 0100421039” offers loans for motorbikes.
The page uses the name and logo of the Kenyan company Mwananchi Credit Limited.
A typical post on the page, dated 8 October 2022, reads in Kiswahili: “PATA PIKIPIKI YA MKOPO LEO KWA URAISI NA UMILIKI PIKIPIKI YAKO .LIPIA MDOGOMDOGO MOTORBIKES KWA MWEZI HUU WA TISA TUKO NA OFFER KEM KEM .NI ILE DEPOSIT YA 5K KISHA UMILIKI YAKO.WATSAPP 0100421039.”
This roughly translates as: “Get a motorbike easily at a loan today and pay in instalments. For this ninth month, we have many offers. Pay a deposit of KSh5,000, and then you own it. Reach out to us on WhatsApp on 0100421039.”
An older post says motorbike loans are available with a minimum deposit of KSh6,500, and KSh150 daily afterwards.
Kenya has a thriving motorbike taxi industry, which provides an income to people who might otherwise struggle to find jobs.
But is the Facebook page – and its offers – legit? We checked.
Signs Facebook page is fake
Even though it uses the name and logo of Mwananchi, the Facebook page doesn’t link to the company's website.
We visited the website, where we were able to find its genuine Facebook page in its social media section.
Mwananchi has more than 77,000 Facebook followers. The page’s transparency section shows it was created 10 years ago. The fake page was only created on 15 September 2022 and has just 5,000 followers.
Besides, the posts on the fake page are full of spelling and grammar errors, including of the name – “Campany”. This would be unlikely on a Facebook page representing a reputable business.
It is also suspicious that the fake Facebook page has put its phone number as part of the page name. And the numbers 0100421039 and 0106163313, listed in its contacts, can’t be found on the company’s website.
Africa Check reached out to Mwananchi to ask if the page represents it.
“We don't offer loans against motorbike’s logbooks, sell motorbikes or even asset finance them. Our contact number is 0709147000,” they told us.
The page is a scam.
To help protect yourself against online fraudsters, see Africa Check’s guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.
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