Nigerians beware, mobile money operator PalmPay is not giving away N500,000

IN SHORT: There is no N500,000 (about US$300) giveaway from Nigeria's popular mobile bank PalmPay. Ignore Facebook posts claiming otherwise.

Several posts on Facebook encourage users to apply for what they call the "PalmPay 500k Giveaway".

PalmPay is a mobile money operator in Nigeria.

The posts feature an application link for the supposed giveaway.

Other posts promoting the giveaway can be found here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)

But can they be trusted? We checked.

PalmPay debunks claim

Some of the posts claim to be advertising a "giveaway", but the accompanying graphic refers to a "PalmPay N500k business loan". These contradictions should raise eyebrows.

The link in the posts took us to a blog post about "U.S. Visa Sponsorship Opportunities". We found it suspicious that it didn't take users to the official PalmPay website. This was another indication that the promotion didn't exist.

PalmPay usually posts promotions on its social media pages. We scoured its accounts, including Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), and found no such promotion.

Africa Check contacted PalmPay via their Instagram account and asked if they were giving away N500,000.

"PalmPay is not running any official giveaway of 500,000 Naira. We recommend being cautious of fraudulent schemes or unauthorised promotions," the company said.

Scammers often use loan and grant offers to drive traffic to unrelated sites, and sometimes to trick users into sharing their personal information.

To protect yourself, read our guide on how to spot scams on Facebook.

The same claim can be found here, here, here, here, here and here.