IN SHORT: Kenyan social media is awash with fake Facebook pages and accounts making bogus offers. This account and page are trying to profit by using the name of a Kenyan government programme meant to help the most vulnerable.
The Facebook account Inua Okoa Loans and the page Inua Jamii Okoa Loans have been posting loan offers on multiple Facebook groups in Kenya. Both use the same phone number to try to lure users.
The account and page use the logo of Inua Jamii, the Kenyan government programme that gives cash grants to poor and vulnerable people. “Inua Jamii” is Kiswahili for “uplift the community”.
One post reads: “Kama unataka loan sai kuanzia 5k upto 100k andika neno loan.”
This mix of English and Kiswahili translates as: “If you want a loan now from KSh5,000 to KSh100,000, write the word loan.”
The offer has been posted on Facebook groups with thousands of members here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
But are the Facebook account and page and their loan offers legit? We checked.
Fake Facebook account and page
There are signs that the account and page and their offers are fake.
While they claim to offer Inua Jamii loans, the Inua Jamii programme does not issue loans. It gives out cash grants to poor and vulnerable people and no loan offers are posted on the programme’s official Facebook page.
The Facebook account and page tell users who comment on their posts to reach out via a WhatsApp number.
But there is a catch. When Africa Check texted the number, we were told there is a “security fee” to be paid before any loan amount is processed.
We were sent a list of the amounts needed as deposits before a loan would be given. This is a clear indication that this is a scam and the page is fake. Reputable lenders don’t ask for money before issuing loans.
For more help identifying social media scams, read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.
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