Nigerians Beware, a Fake AIT News Facebook Account Is Out to Scam You!

22 June 2023
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
analysis By Muktar Balogun

IN SHORT: Africa Check has exposed several Facebook accounts falsely claiming to offer investment services. This is another one impersonating broadcaster AIT, promising Nigerians to double their money.

The Facebook account Air News Nigeria is offering investment plans to Nigerians to double their money.

The account uses the name and logo of news agency Africa Independent Television (AIT), which operates in Nigeria.

"Invest In CROWD 1 INVESTMENT and get paid within an hour ,we are 100percent legit,real and trustworthy ... Stop letting the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning," reads the May 2023 post.

The post also has a list of plans for students and workers, saying it will double their investments.

As Africa Check has seen previously in similar scam posts, this post includes a video and a WhatsApp link.

This is the only post found on the page, but the video has been seen by more than 30,000 users.

We also found similar posts on other pages here, here, here, here and here.

But is this scheme by Air News Nigeria for real?

Failed attempt at impersonation

Although the page uses AIT's logo, it's named Air News Nigeria, and is a poor attempt at impersonating the popular broadcasting station.

The poorly written post also shows that the page is a scam. AIT is a broadcast station where journalists and editors are employed and one would expect all writing was checked for errors before publishing.

The page only has 18 followers, while the official AIT page has over 1 million followers. The official page is called AIT Online and has a blue tick, showing it's verified by Facebook.

AIT is owned by Daar Communications, an independent and privately owned broadcasting organisation in Nigeria.

Similar scam debunked

While several Facebook pages are claiming to help Nigerians with money-doubling investments, many of their posts are similar to those posted by scam accounts Africa Check has debunked before.

Africa Check debunked a similar money-doubling investment scheme in September 2022, which also used the name of a popular broadcaster.

Many people have reportedly been scammed by the investment scheme known as Crowd 1, according to a 2022 spotlight published by Dubawa, a fact-checking organisation based in Nigeria.

In August 2022, Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission also warned Nigerians about patronising money doubling investments firms, ponzi schemes, unregistered affiliate marketing schemes and unlicensed crowdfunding platforms.

The commission regulates the Nigerian capital market.

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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