Nigerians, Beware of Facebook Account Impersonating Zenith Bank and Offering Fake Loans
By Muktar Balogun
The Facebook page Zenith bank loan plc claims to offer loans to Nigerians.
The page uses the name of Zenith Bank, a financial service provider with branches in Nigeria and other countries in West Africa. The bank offers a range of services, including personal and business loans.
The post, dated 14 June 2023, reads: “Apply for business loan and personal loan without documentations and collaterals from zenith bank. Our loan service is Accessible to all zenith bank users.”
Collateral is an item the borrower pledges to the bank as a guarantee that the loan will be repaid.
This is the only post found on the page and has been liked more than 1,000 times. It has attracted over 500 comments from users showing interest in the loan offers.
Similar posts can be found here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
But is this Facebook page and these offers legit? We checked.
Fake Facebook account
One of the signs of a scam is a poorly written post, with spelling and grammar mistakes.
The fake page is named Zenith bank loan plc. But the bank’s official Facebook page is Zenith Bank Plc and is verified by Meta.
The verified account has over 6.5 million followers while the fake account has just over 14.
Zenith Bank loans
Zenith Bank offers personal and business loans. The bank, in response to a tweet, directed customers to its branches to apply for a loan in person.
In another tweet, it urged customers to disregard messages from unverified accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
It then listed its social media accounts, saying: “Only follow and engage with us on our verified social media handles.”
Africa Check has reported several fake loan schemes on Facebook.
To help protect yourself and others against scams, see Africa Check’s guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.
