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Tag: scam

  • Eric Omondi exposes woman over alleged KSh 1 Million scam

    Eric Omondi exposes woman over alleged KSh 1 Million scam

    Comedian-turned-philanthropist Eric Omondi has revealed that a woman at the centre of a viral eviction video attempted to scam Kenyans out of more than KSh 1 million.

    Earlier this week, a clip circulated online showing a woman identified as Joyce Nyabuti being allegedly chased out of her home by her husband. The video sparked outrage and sympathy, with many Kenyans appealing to Omondi to intervene through his charitable initiative, Sisi Kwa Sisi.

    Nyabuti claimed she had been thrown out following a dispute linked to her children’s mental health challenges. She further alleged that a friend had taken her in after her husband forced her out.

    Moved by the public outcry, Omondi rallied his followers on social media to raise funds for the woman. Within hours, over KSh 1 million had been contributed, with the money intended to help Nyabuti start a business and secure her own home.

    However, investigations by Omondi’s own team uncovered that the story was fabricated. According to Omondi, Nyabuti, together with another woman she introduced as her sister, had conspired to stage the eviction. They enlisted the help of a man, presented as her husband, and even used a friend’s child to bolster sympathy from the public.

    “One of the principles of Sisi Kwa Sisi is that we do serious due diligence before, during and after a case. These individuals tried to scam Kenyans, but we caught them,” Omondi said in a statement.

    Omondi says he has handed over the mobile phone used to collect the contributions to officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who detained the suspects at Kitengela Police Station pending further inquiry.

    “It is very sad that they would use innocent children in such a scheme. The phone, which already had KSh 1 million, is now in police custody. We are seeking guidance from Team Sisi Kwa Sisi on the way forward,” Omondi concluded.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/DNoNSLzNxTy/?hl=en

  • Scammers use fake X accounts to impersonate airlines

    Scammers use fake X accounts to impersonate airlines

    Holidaymakers are being warned about a rise in scams where fake social media accounts are used to impersonate airlines.

    Bogus accounts exist for every major UK airline on X, formerly known as Twitter, and are regularly used to trick customers into giving away their personal data, according to consumer association Which?.

    It added that X is too slow to take down offending accounts.

    The social media platform said accounts that impersonate organisations may be permanently suspended under its “misleading and deceptive identities policy”.

    It previously told Which? that it had taken down all of the fake accounts identified by the consumer group.

    The scam often happens when a frustrated customer tries to contact an airline to try to fix a problem, said Which?

    It said scammers crawl social media – often using bots, a type of automated software – to find such interactions.

    They then respond to the query or complaint, hoping that the customer will not notice they are being contacted by a fake account.

    Which? gave the example of a researcher who contacted the genuine Wizz Air X account, @wizzair, asking if a flight was delayed, and almost immediately received responses from two fake accounts.

    “Both used near-identical language, apologising for the inconvenience, stating that they had ‘already escalated this matter to the relevant department’ and requesting a ‘reachable WhatsApp number for assistance’ via DM [direct message],” it said.

    Every major airline affected

    Scammers will often ask customers to send them sensitive personal data, or direct them to phishing websites where their credit card details can be harvested.

    Some fraudsters also claim customers are entitled to compensation or ask for a small fee to resolve the issue.

    Which? said it had found bogus X accounts impersonating every major airline operating in the UK including British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, Tui, Virgin Atlantic and Wizz Air.

    It said reporting fake accounts to X “seems to have limited effect” and that most of the bogus posts and accounts it flagged “were still live at the time of writing”.

    An X spokesperson told the BBC: “On X, you may not misappropriate the identity of individuals, groups, or organisations or use a fake identity to deceive others.

    “Accounts that pose as another person, group, or organisation in a confusing or deceptive manner may be permanently suspended under X’s misleading and deceptive identities policy.”

    Airlines are urging customers to be wary of fake accounts and not share personal data on social media.

    An easyJet spokesperson said: “We advise customers to only follow and engage with our sole official channel @easyJet, which is identifiable by the gold verification badge for official businesses, for the latest updates or to seek support and to be vigilant and to not engage with or click on any links from other accounts.”

    A Wizz Air spokesperson said: “We continue to report fake social media accounts and would like to remind customers to never give their personal details out on these channels. Passengers should contact customer service via our claims or call centres.”