Kenya: Don't Be Conned By This Facebook Account Impersonating Kenyan News Anchor Lulu Hassan and Offering Fake Promotions

2 August 2023
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Dancan Bwire

IN SHORT: Scammers often use the names of prominent people in Kenyan society to try to trick the public. This account using the name and photos of journalist Lulu Hassan is just another scam and should be ignored.

The Facebook account Lulu Tosh Citizen consistently posts promotions on different Facebook groups in Kenya with thousands of members.

The account uses a photo of Lulu Hassan, a prominent news anchor for the Kenyan channel Citizen TV, as its profile picture.

The account posts simple questions and informs users who answer them that they have "won". It then asks them to reach out through WhatsApp to claim their rewards.

On 25 July 2023, for instance, the account asked Facebook users to say how many of the letter "F" they could see among several letters "E". It promised them a KSh55,000 reward as "breakfast promotion".

The account has posted on different dates here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

But is the Facebook account - and its offers - legit? We checked.

Signs Facebook account is a scam

The Facebook account has no posts on its timeline save for three updates - one of the profile picture and two of the cover photo. But it has posted numerous similar promotions on different Facebook groups with thousands of members. This is the first red flag.

The promotions on the page in question do not feature on Hassan's official Facebook page, which has over 1.4 million followers. We also checked her verified Instagram account, which has over 1.5 million followers, and could not find the promotions.

The account asks those who have participated in the promotions to reach out privately on WhatsApp to claim their rewards. We reached out to the WhatsApp number provided and were asked to deposit KSh586 as an "unlocking fee". This is a clear indication that this is a scam account.

Africa Check has debunked similar scams here, here, here and here.

To help protect yourself against online fraudsters, 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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