Nigeria: Facebook Posts Offering Money Doubling Investments Not From Popular Nigerian Mobile Money Operator Palmpay

13 July 2023
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Muktar Balogun

IN SHORT: Some Facebook users are promoting PalmPay Global Investment, saying it can double your money. But this is a scam and is not affiliated with PalmPay, the mobile money operator.

"Congratulation to me I invest in one PLATFORM called PALMPAY GLOBAL INVESTMENT and is real ooo i invest the sum 50,000 and i was credited the sum of 100,000 today ... ASK ME HOW NOW," reads a post on Facebook.

The post, dated 29 June 2023, includes a WhatsApp link where those interested are encouraged to send a message.

PalmPay is a mobile money operator in Nigeria.

The post also includes a screenshot of what appears to be a payment notification on a cellphone for N100,000.

We found similar claims here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

But do these posts really link to investments by PalmPay and are they legitimate? We checked.

Signs of a scam

The post is poorly written, with noticeable typos and no punctuation, which is a clue the scheme could be a scam. The screenshot of a credit alert attached to the post also has the potential to mislead Nigerians.

PalmPay Limited is a popular mobile financial services provider registered with the Central Bank of Nigeria. It began operations in Ghana and Nigeria in 2019 and now has over five million customers. The company's verified Facebook page in Nigeria, PalmPay Nigeria, has over 800,000 followers.

Although the account did not impersonate the verified PalmPay Nigeria account, using the name PalmPay for the investment platform could lead users to associate it with the registered fintech company.

PalmPay does not offer investment services

Africa Check accessed the mobile app of the company, and found that PalmPay only offers savings plans for users. It does not offer an investment doubling scheme.

In a tweet in 2022, the company told its customers that it does not offer money doubling investments. "PalmPay is not involved in any form of ponzu [Ponzi] scheme," the company said.

In another tweet, PalmPay said it would never request money from users.

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation promising quick and unrealistic returns on initial payments.

In a private message to Africa Check on Twitter, a PalmPay representative said the Facebook posts should be disregarded as they were not from the company: "Please be informed that all PalmPay promotions and features should be accessed directly from the official app downloaded from Google or Apple store."

Africa Check has previously investigated similar false investment schemes here and here.

To help protect yourself against online scams, read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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