Michael AndeyinNigerians are losing thousands and millions of naira to scammers posing as investment and earning platforms, FIJ has learnt.
On Monday, Fabian, an X user with the handle @_Shylad, shared how his sister fell for a N4.95 million scam.
“She stumbled on a website that could pay her a fraction of her investment and she fell for it. She got her first payment and decided to carry on with it,” he wrote in a post.
The sister had clicked on an online advertisement which directed her to a WhatsApp number. She was later directed to a second number belonging to her “tutor who would direct her on how to earn” and then she was added to a “VIP” group.
Hello twitter I need your help. My sister stupidly fell for a 4.95 million naira scam. We need your help track and recover the money. Please guys help me retweet and tag the required body that can help rectify this stupid mistake @officialEFCC @PoliceNG pic.twitter.com/CagOKBwUQy— Fabian (@_Shylad) September 30, 2024
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The website of the said company is https://ttmall247.com. Screenshots shared by Fabian show that the ‘investment platform’ requires users to complete certain tasks with the help of an instructor.
By Sunday, numerous others had shared similar experiences.
“Ah I know the website too, they will tell u from the beginning that u will help them sell on Konga, Jumia, Amazon, etc,” wrote @mayowa_rut82382.
Scam experiences shared by X users
According to @emini6582, this is an old scam with a new name and the same interface. “They will tell you that you can make money just by viewing products,” he wrote.
@soyinka_oba said he experienced the same in September when he earned N3,000 for viewing products. “The next thing, they told me to add money to earn more… Me wey done dey street,” he said.
Scam experiences shared by X users
“I fell for it as well. These same people scammed me of N310,000 earlier this year. I hope she gets her money back, ’cause I never got mine,” stated @T_ELLE.
Chidimma, a social media user who shared her experience with FIJ on Sunday, said she lost N300,000 after clicking on an Instagram advert in July.
“It was an ad on Instagram that was “in need of remote workers”. I followed the link to a WhatsApp account and the person chatting started by asking about my internet connection, if I’d ever done such a job before, what kind of phone/device I use, and so on. Then the person said it was a daily task job, where you do daily tasks and get paid,” she disclosed.
She was then sent a link to a website to register, create an account and also pay N400 for registration.
The instructor sent a link to a product on Jumia for her to like and engage, which she did.
“I immediately got a bonus of N400 as well, which I was asked to withdraw immediately. After that, I got added to a WhatsApp group, where I saw many other people posting screenshots of payments and bonuses,” Chidimma told FIJ.
“Then they sent a picture of what amount to pay and bonuses to get after liking and engaging a product on Jumia.”
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Chidimma first paid N30,000 and got a N6,000 bonus. “Then I was asked to move up. After I paid N100,000 they claimed it was three times something, so I couldn’t withdraw without paying more,” she narrated.
“I paid an additional N200,000 which I assumed was what they meant, but the “tutor” on the group said it was 300 x 3, meaning I was to pay N900,000 and get a bonus of over N2 million or so, which I could now withdraw.
“That was when I decided I would not. Others in the group were sending receipts of supposed payments and all, but I said I wouldn’t pay more and that they should send my money back without any bonus. I was ignored.”
Chidimma told FIJ that she wasn’t sure if the others in the group chat were scammers too. Although she suspected they were, she said everything in the group seemed legitimate.
She reported the issue to her financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) as well as the recipient bank, Moniepoint, but after nearly three months, she has not received any proper feedback.
Chidimma mentioned that while she hasn’t been removed from the group, there’s been no activity or messages there for about three months.
The post ‘Old Scam With New Name’ Taking Millions From Nigerians Via X, WhatsApp appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.
