Too many of us have lost their hard-earned money to online scammers. Not any more! We are sharing 10 red flags to help you spot an online scam business in Kenya.
How do you define a con?
We usually say that someone's been conned only when they pay money to a business/person in exchange for a good or a service but never receive it.
Well, I would also say that when someone pays money to a business and receives a good or service that is of much lower quality or differs significantly from what the business advertised or promised, they have also been conned.
Just to be clear. I'm not talking about a business that's doing its best but falls short.
I'm talking about the guys who know they can't deliver but deliberately misguide the buyer into believing that they can.
We recently ran a poll on our Instagram page, asking our followers if they have ever been conned.
It wasn’t surprising to see that most of us have been conned at least once, with a ‘lucky’ few who came close to being conned but managed to run from the trap before losing their money.
I have been conned more than once.
I have lost money without receiving the item I purchased, and I have paid the full price for an item and received, for lack of a better word, mathogothanio. I'm not sure which one of the two is worse.
Purchasing items online should not be a game of chance, where you're holding your breath, reciting the rosary 3 times and crossing every limb on your body each time you pay for an item until you receive it. Not in 2024.
My first-hand experience of being conned plus stories from my friends and family have enabled me to become somewhat of a pro at spotting fake online businesses.
I don't want any of us to keep being victims of these con businesses.
So, I am sharing these 10 red flags to help you protect yourself from getting conned (again) by a scam online business.
Tip 1: The business has an online profile that looks too good to be true or shady as hell
Scam business profiles tend to have beautiful posts with their products well laid out, usually to entice you to make a purchase.
They may even advertise using pictures lifted from other sites. However, you will notice that those posts never include the face of the owner or any person who works for the business.
The other type of scammer has very few posts on their page, with low-quality pictures of the product.
Tip 2: A business that frequently changes its username
For Instagram businesses, you can check how frequently the business has changed its username.
Click the three dots in the extreme top right corner of the business’ profile, select About this account, then Former usernames.
It's a red flag when a business changes its username 3 times or more. (Add a screenshot of the handbags IG page)
Tip 3: Mteja wa nambari hapatikani kwa sasa (The mobile subscriber cannot be reached)
Scam businesses tend to have either have no contact information on their website, numbers that don't go through and/or multiple numbers.
Unfortunately, by the time you notice this, it's usually too late- the scam has been successfully completed.
Tip 4: They don't have a physical location/address
This is a tricky one. With so many businesses operating 100% online, it would be wrong to say that all these businesses are con artists.
Which brings us to our next point.
Tip 5: They have lots of consistently negative reviews
Be it a rant on Twitter/X, an exposé on Instagram or a Google review, the innocent victims of con artists sometimes entertain and educate us with the stories of how they got conned online.
I shared how my friends and I got conned when we tried out a matchmaking service here in Nairobi.
Do not ignore these reviews!
While some negative reviews may be one-off or even be blamed on the customer, if there are several negative reviews with a pattern- beware!
It's also important for us to mention that there are a lot of fake reviews on Google. In fact, in 2019, 75 million reviews were deleted or blocked from Google for being fake or fraudulent.
That's why you should trust information from Kenya's most reliable source of reviews i.e. Honest Reviews KE
Tip 6: They always insist you pay before delivery
If the business is not willing to allow you to pay for the item on delivery, it's probably a scam.
Now, there are cases where it makes sense for the business to insist that the customer pays a deposit before the item is delivered. Such businesses include furniture stores and bakeries.
Tip 7: It goes down in the DM
This is a method I only learnt about the other day, after a close relative got scammed.
With many followers and posts, this business should have a lot of engagement in their comment section from customers asking about the items.
However, they have disabled the comment section- probably to avoid having comments from their victims visible to their prey.
Tip 8: They pressure you to pay ASAP
Con artists won't want you to have too much time to think twice and notice any irregularities.
So, they will do their best to push you to make the payment.
For example, they might tell you that there is only one item left and that there won't be another restock.
Tip 9: The price is temptingly low
When the deal is too good, think twice.
Fake businesses will, sometimes, price an item so low that you want to make the purchase immediately.
Tip 10: Your instincts tell you it's a scam
“A gut feeling...is a form of unconscious intelligence.” Gerd Gigerenzer
Nothing beats your intuition. When you feel your gut telling you that something isn't right, don't ignore it.
Scam artists stay awake perfecting the art of their con.
Use these tips together to become smarter in spotting an online business scam from afar. Just know that con artists are sure to come up with more new tactics to outsmart you.
Unfortunately, reporting a fake Instagram or Facebook business account after you've been scammed doesn't usually lead to the account being taken down the account.
That what makes the Honest Reviews KE community so great.
When each of us shares their experiences on a platform that is free from the noise of social media and the information is accessible anywhere and at any time, we help to protect each other from losing our hard-earned money.
Join our community to access reliable reviews, 24/7, 365 days, from any country code.
Do you have other tips to spot fake online business profiles? Let us know in the comment section below.
I’ll be referring to this post every time I want to purchase something online 🙌🏽