IN SHORT: Scammers in Kenya often impersonate celebrities to carry out their schemes.

The Facebook page Actress Nana Citizen has been running promotions on a Facebook group in Kenya with over 122,000 members.

The page uses the name and photo of popular Kenyan actor Jackie Matubia. Matubia played the character Nana in Kenyan drama series, Zora. The show aired on Citizen TV, the country's most-watched station.

The account posts simple queries and tasks and asks users to respond and win cash.

One of its posts, dated 30 May 2023, reads: "Akuna jina ya boy inaanza na erufi 'E' apart from Edwin na Edward,prove me wrong ujishindie ksh.20,000 sasa hivi. Watu 199 pekee."

This mix of English and Kiswahili translates as: "There is no boy's name that starts with the letter 'E' apart from Edwin and Edward. Prove me wrong and win KSh20,000 now. This is for 199 people only."

It tells those who comment that their response has been received and that they should reach out via WhatsApp to stand a chance of winning the cash, and lists a phone number.

Posts have been published by the page here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

But is this page, which has 7,300 followers, really run by Matubia? We checked.

No promotions on actor's official Facebook page

Facebook allows public figures such as Matubia to verify their pages on the platform. These pages then carry the "blue tick" verification badge.

Matubia's official Facebook page is verified and has 1.4 million followers. She only posts photos of herself, her endorsements, and the films in which she appears. None of these cash giveaways are posted on her page.

It is unlikely that she would run two Facebook pages, dedicating the less popular and unverified one to posting promotions. Her verified Instagram account also does not feature promotions.

The page in the actor's name and its promotions are fake.

To protect yourself against scams, see our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.