IN SHORT: Africa Check found no verified Facebook account belonging to Fatima Aliko-Dangote, the daughter of one of Africa’s richest men. Users should be careful when engaging with any account using her name or promising them money.
“How much do you need now to solve your immediate problem I'm ready to help with the sum of 200,000 naira support yourself in your business or further your education.. Promise me you will use the money wisely.. if you are really Honest with me,” reads part of a post on the Facebook page Fatima Dangote.
The account uses the name and pictures of Fatima Aliko-Dangote. She is the daughter of Aliko Dangote, one of the richest people in Africa.
The post has over 90 comments and 40 likes, with some users sharing their financial problems. The account has made similar offers here, here and here.
But is Aliko-Dangote giving out cash on Facebook? We checked.
Imposter account
A quick scan of the page shows that it offers money to users on a regular basis. It also features what appears to be screenshots of successful and pending payments. This is uncharacteristic of a person with Aliko-Dangote’s corporate profile.
The account in question has about 4,800 “friends”. This number is quite low for a prominent person like Aliko-Dangote. It is also not verified by Meta.
Africa Check only found one verified social media account in the name of Fatima Aliko-Dangote, and it’s on Instagram. It was created in April 2018 and only posted three times, in May of the same year.
The suspicious Facebook page encourages people to “call my bank manager Mr Emmanuel balogun … to credit your account number immediately”. This is a red flag and may be an attempt to convince unsuspecting users to give out their personal and banking details.
This is not the first time scammers have used Aliko-Dangote’s name on Facebook. A three-year-old report on news site Opera News shows messages between another Facebook account claiming to belong to Aliko-Dangote and a user. It appears that account was also out to scam people.
Africa Check previously investigated a Facebook account impersonating Aliko-Dangote’s sister, Halima, and offering N300,000 to Nigerians.
To help protect yourself against online scams, read our guide to spotting investment scams on Facebook.
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