Nigerians, beware of Facebook account using trade union’s name to offer investment opportunities
IN SHORT: With over 2.5 million members across the country, scammers are taking advantage of a legitimate union’s popularity. Their goal is to steal your money.
The Facebook account Trade union Congress investment platform promises to double users’ money, saying “people are making millions from this”.
The account uses the name and logo of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), which claims 2.5 million members in the country
One of its posts, dated 13 June 2023, reads, in part: “Your equivalent profit is the exact amount you’re investing and your Bonus Offer is 15% of the amount you invest in addition to your payback, e.g An investor investing 50k, you will get an equivalent profit of 50k which make it #100,000, Now your bonus offer Applies, which is 15% of 50k which is #7,500 so your total profit back is #107,500.”
We found other posts promoting this “investment platform” here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Africa Check has exposed several Facebook accounts falsely claiming to offer investment opportunities to Nigerians.
But is this page and its offers legit? We checked.
It’s a scam
One of the signs of a scam is poor writing. The posts by the suspicious account are mostly riddled with spelling errors and random capitalisation.
For example, in most of its posts where its supposed address is included, it spells the word “headquarters” as “Headuater”. A trade union with millions of members would be expected to communicate professionally.
Another red flag is the promise of unrealistic returns in a short period of time. In a tweet in 2022, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crime Commission urged users to be wary of such businesses: “Do not fall victim of these online investments … Know that NO investment gives those fantastic returns.”
The posts also ask users to send messages to the WhatsApp link attached in order to register. Fraudsters often use this tactic to obtain would-be investors’ personal information such as name and national identification number, or NIN.
Africa Check couldn’t find the Trade union Congress investment platform on the list of TUC’s affiliates nor any mention of the platform on the union’s website.
The headquarters address and phone number given by the suspicious account are also different from those listed on the contact us section of TUC’s website.
Africa Check has previously investigated similar false investment schemes here, here, here, here, and here.
To help protect yourself, read our guide to spotting investment scams on Facebook.
