Kenya: Beware of Fake Facebook Page Promising Big Discounts On Water Tanks in Kenya

26 May 2023
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Dancan Bwire

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That's the case for a Facebook page and website offering unusually high discounts on Roto water tanks - they're bogus.

The Facebook page Roto Tank Moulders offers huge discounts on Roto water tanks manufactured by Roto Moulders Limited, a company in Kenya.

The page uses the Kenyan company's name and logo. Its ads feature images of the company's products and promise discounts of up to 35% and free delivery countrywide.

A typical post on the page, dated 26 April 2023, reads: "OFFER! OFFER! Buy High Quality Double Layered Roto Tanks at 35% discount today and get free delivery within 24 hours! Visit our website through the link below to learn more. OFFER VALID WHILE STOCKS LAST."

The page links to the website www.rotokenya.com and the ads have attracted thousands of engagements.

But are the Facebook page, the website and the offers it advertises legit? We checked.

Signs Facebook page is fake

The "page transparency" section of the Facebook page shows that it was only created on 25 April and has about 400 followers. We checked the URL (online address) of the website on the page and found that it was first registered on 20 April. It is unlikely that a company that has been operating in Kenya for many years would have a newly created Facebook page and website.

We contacted the company and were told that the official website is rotomoulders.com. You can access the company's official Facebook page, Roto Tanks, from the website. It was created on 13 February 2014 and has over 50,000 followers. None of the heavily discounted offers are advertised on it.

The company confirmed to Africa Check that the Facebook page and website advertising big discounts are fake. It has also warned the public to fall for the scam.

To protect yourself from online fraudsters, read Africa Check's 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

Tagged:
Copyright © 2023 Africa Check. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.