IN SHORT: These Facebook accounts are asking Kenyans to answer simple questions to stand a chance of winning large amounts of money. But they are all imposters and the promotions are fake.
The Facebook accounts Mashirima Kapombe Ctn, Mashirima Kapombe Ct, Masharina Kapombe Cctv, Mashirima Kapombe, Mashrima Kapombe, Mashirima Kapombe CitizenTv and Mashirina Kapombe would have you believe they are run by a prominent news anchor on Kenya’s Citizen TV.
Each of the accounts uses Mashirima Kapombe’s name and photos to run promotions on their timelines and on Facebook groups.
In the promotions, Kenyans have been asked to respond to simple queries posted by the accounts for a chance to win as much as KSh75,000 in cash.
One such post published on 16 November 2023 reads: “Andika neno lenye linaanza na ‘z’ English only and win Ksh75,000.”
The mix of English and Kiswahili translates to: “Write a word that starts with the letter ‘z’ to win KSh75,000. Use English only.”
Many other similar posts have been published by the accounts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
But are these accounts and the promotions to be trusted? We checked.
Beware of imposters
We discovered that six of the accounts have not posted the promotions on their timelines despite posting aggressively across different Facebook groups. Little to no activity on the timeline of a Facebook account running promotions is usually a sign that it is fake. Such accounts are seemingly created to run fake promotions.
While there are multiple promotions on the timeline of the remaining account, its posts are similar to what is being posted by the others. They are all badly written and ask users simple questions with the promise of thousands of Kenyan shillings.
The accounts also ask users to start a conversation privately to claim their rewards. This could see users disclosing their personal and banking details, which may be used for identity theft and fraud.
Africa Check has previously sent a message to such accounts running similar promotions and in each instance, we were asked to pay an “unlocking” or “registration” fee to receive the money. This is usually a clear attempt to scam users.
Kapombe's legitimate Facebook account – Mashirima Kapombe (Me Kenga) – features no such promotions or giveaways.
The accounts are fake and their offers are a scam. To further protect yourself from Facebook scams, read our guide on how to spot them.
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