Kenya: Beware of Imposter Facebook Page Promising Big Discounts On Toptank Water Tanks

29 May 2023
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Dancan Bwire

A discount of up to 40% on water tanks from TopTank sounds too good to be true, and it is. Be careful not to get scammed by this Facebook page claiming to belong to the Kenyan manufacturing company.

The Facebook page Toptank. would have you believe it is run by TopTank, a Kenyan manufacturing company.

It uses the same name as the company and has the company's products as its profile and cover pictures.

The page promises Kenyans huge discounts of up to 40% on water tanks, with free delivery.

One of its ads, published on 16 April 2023, says it has introduced the "lipa polepole" option for the tanks. This is Kiswahili for "pay slowly" - a form of hire purchase, or lay-by, where consumers pay for a product in small instalments.

The adverts link to the website toptanks.online.

The posts on the page have attracted hundreds of interactions, with the majority asking further questions about the offers.

But is the Facebook page and the offers advertised on it legit? We checked.

Identifying a scam

We looked at the "page transparency" section of the Facebook page and noted it was created on 3 April 2023. We also found out that the website linked is less than three months old. This is a red flag, since the company has been operating in Kenya for many years.

The official Facebook page of the company - Toptank - was created on 22 February 2014. The page can be accessed from the company's official website. None of the heavily discounted offers are advertised on it.

'Don't fall prey to this scam'

The company has stamped "fake" on a screenshot of the discount advertised and cautioned its customers that it is a scam.

"BEWARE! This is a fraud account and you are advised to take adequate precautions and not fall prey to this scam. Do not lose your hard earned money to these fraudsters," it said.

It also said: "All communication regarding the brand, our products, promotions and offers is published on our official social media page Toptank and our website."

The company has also confirmed the Facebook page running the adverts is fake.

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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