Fake accounts have been known to deceit a lot of people. The accounts trick you into believing that you are talking to or communicating with a certain celebrity or personality. The accounts extort important information and sometimes money from unsuspecting victims. It has now come to our attention that someone is using the identity of the First Lady, Margaret Kenyatta, to con Kenyans into paying for a Coronavirus relief fund.

‘Margaret Kenyatta’ Coronavirus Relief Fraud

Despite the unfortunate circumstances that have taken the world by storm, there are still some people who want to take advantage of those suffering from the pandemic. The fraudster is using a fake Facebook account posing as Margaret Kenyatta, the First Lady of Kenya. The account has pictures of Margaret Kenyatta and money most likely used to convince any victims of the fraud.

The post in question states that she is giving KES 30,000 coronavirus relief fund to those affected by the pandemic. However, there is a catch. To get the money, one has to send a registration fee of KES 599 to be eligible to receive this money.

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The fraudster does not stop there. There is another account that comes into play as Maryanne Nyongesa. She claims to have sent the registration fee and received the relief fund from the Government of Kenya. She even has an M-Pesa transaction message to support her claims.

"Margaret Kenyatta" pale Mukuru kwa Zuckerberg disbursing funds from the Government of Kenya at a small registration fee ??? pic.twitter.com/FIJTIizPTn

— Wonder Woman™ (@PeggyMMwanza) May 7, 2020

Debunking The Fraud

Now if you are not a regular reader, whenever we are alerted to a scam, we have to prove its ‘fakeness’ and this one had one too many slip-ups.

1. The Margaret Kenyatta account is fake: Whenever you see such claims, it is always good to check and verify if the account is fake or not.
   Celebrity accounts are normally verified. The First Lady’s, real account is the ‘Office of The First Lady and it is verified. (Confirmed by the blue check after the name). There are a lot of fake accounts and below are some of them. Do not be fooled. They are very detailed and have information concerning the first lady including where she lives and where she went to school.
2. No such directive has been announced by the Government, let alone the President. Thus, it is improbable she would conduct such a relief on her Facebook account.
3. The pictures here are of very low quality and do not coincide with the likes of the President and his First Lady.
4. There are spelling errors that the first lady or her social media team ould not let slip through their hands.
5. Whenever you have to pay to get money, know that that is a scam. You shouldn’t be made to pay for something that is apparently free.

Stay safe, Don’t fall for the scam.