Being asked to pay a fee in order to access a loan is a clear sign of a scam. That's the method used by a Facebook page impersonating Zenka Kenya, and its ads should be ignored.

The Facebook account Zenka Loans is offering loans to Facebook users in Kenya.

The account uses the name and graphics of Zenka Kenya, a digital credit provider.

One of its posts, dated 29 May 2023, reads: "Congratulations congratulations to all those who have received our loans registration is still ongoing apply now get a quick mpesa loan from as low as ksh 5,000-270,000 approved successful within 7 minutes only apply now kindly click on the link below to get."

The posts on the page link to a Google Form where those interested in the offer are asked to apply.

The posts appear here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

But is the Facebook account legit? We checked.

Fake Facebook account, fake offers

The advert's poor writing is the first sign that it's a scam. A reputable company is very unlikely to put out an ad with random capitalisation, misspellings and odd punctuation.

The posts ask users to apply via a Google Form. This is a red flag as trusted companies usually have proper websites for running their business activities.

We opened the form to learn more. It asks a number of simple questions, such as if the applicant is ready to get the loan and repay it, and for a cell phone number.

But there is a catch. After responding to the questions, we were told that our loan limit was KSh 54,679 and that we should deposit KSh415 in order to receive the loan. Having to pay a fee to access a loan is a clear indication of a scam.

Zenka's official Facebook page has over 63,000 followers and can be accessed from the company's website www.zenka.co.ke. The cell phone number provided by the suspicious Facebook account is not listed on the website or the official Facebook page.

The ads posted on Facebook by Zenka Loans are a scam.