IN SHORT: A Facebook page using the name and photos of Charlene Ruto offers free and low-cost motorbikes – a popular form of transport in Kenya – and jobs in Dubai. But it’s run by an impostor.
The Facebook page “Charlene Ruto” makes several enticing offers to Kenyan users: low-cost motorbikes, motorbike giveaways and job ads for taxi drivers to work in the Arabian city of Dubai.
The page uses the name and photos of Charlene Ruto, the daughter of Kenyan president William Ruto. She shot to national prominence after a flurry of public appearances in the months following his inauguration in September 2022.
One post reads: “Good morning dear kenyans,Today have decided to offer new motorbikes to those who wants to start BODABODA business..Today am giving out 27 new motorbikes to those people who are interested in bodaboda business.”
A boda boda is a motorcycle used in Kenya to transport people and goods, and is a popular form of transport in the East African country.
The February 2023 post adds: “This project is open to all kenyans and the first 27 people to inbox their FULL NAMES I'D NUMBER PHONE NUMBER COUNTY TYPE OF MOTORBIKE YOU NEED AND LOCATION FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY are the luckiest to be today.The empowerment is open to all kenyans.”
In another post, Ruto seemingly offers motorbikes for a deposit of KSh6500 and daily payments of KSh280 over 22 months.
The Ruto family has often been targeted by fake Facebook accounts and pages claiming to offer loans and cash to Kenyans. Is this another one?
Signs the account is fake
The page’s posts have many grammatical errors, which would be uncharacteristic of an account run by the president’s daughter.
In some posts, the page asks for personal information – another red flag. Many scammers running such accounts often use this information to ask for payment later.
Ruto’s official Facebook page, also called “Charlene Ruto”, is verified – it has the “blue tick” badge the platform uses to let people know a page or profile is authentic.
Her real page has 17,000 followers and its first post was made in 2013. There are no promotions or credit offers on this account.
In contrast, the fraudulent Facebook account using Charlene Ruto’s name is unverified, with its first post dated 11 January 2023.
For more help identifying social media scams, read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.
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