In 2025, Africa Check investigated over 20 scams circulating online in Nigeria, from Facebook pages impersonating popular commercial banks to fake money-doubling investment opportunities.
The risks of falling for these scams include losing hard-earned money or having personal information stolen, which could then be used for identity theft.
In 2026, we expect scams to persist, especially as tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) become more widely used. In this guide, we highlight several scam trends to watch out for and explain how you can protect yourself online.
Africa Check has fact-checked several AI-generated videos using the likeness of popular Nigerian personalities. In one instance, a video showed Aproko Doctor, a popular health content creator, and Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, a Nigerian actor, promoting a cure for hypertension.
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A deepfake is when someone is impersonated using AI tools to make it look like they are saying or doing something they haven’t. Celebrities and public officials are often targeted because they are seen as credible.
This trend shows no signs of slowing in 2026. In January, Ibukun Awosika, a popular Nigerian business executive, debunked several AI-generated videos that appeared to show her promoting an investment platform. In February, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organization, also warned Nigerians of an AI-generated video of her appearing to promote a non-existent investment opportunity.
Rasheed Adeniyi, acting director of Fountain University‘s Centre for Research, Innovation and Technology in Osun state, told Africa Check that scammers were using celebrities’ identities to drive traffic or to make money.
“People using AI to generate fake images and videos of people, especially celebrities, is an indication that they have found a new tool to make their work faster, easier and more believable to dupe others.”
Still images are also susceptible to manipulation. Scammers sometimes steal people’s images, edit them using AI tools and create new social media profiles. In January, an X user shared his experience of this after a scammer used his photos to solicit money from victims online.
“This is one of the worst periods to be careless about your footprint or online appearance, because with the prevalence of AI tools, it is easier to edit other people’s real pictures and create fake social media accounts, especially for popular people. It is a time to be very cautious,” Adeniyi told Africa Check.
He also advised social media users to be vigilant by regularly checking where their photos appeared online and whether any accounts had been falsely created in their name.
In addition to impersonating people, scammers also create fake X accounts using the names and logos of real banks. They then reply to X users looking for help with banking problems. For example, in 2023, a Nigerian directed to WhatsApp by a fake United Bank for Africa account was duped of US$1,500.
While not widely reported in Nigeria, scammers have also been known to clone the websites of banks. In 2023, Africa Check investigated a web form that looked like a low-quality copy of Moniepoint’s website, requesting users’ sensitive information. Moniepoint is a financial services provider catering to small and medium businesses in Nigeria.
Scammers take advantage of economic hardship or news about government support programs to trick people into providing their personal data or sending money.
These scams often claim to be official government-issued relief funds, grants, cash payouts or palliatives, but they are fabricated.
For example, in March 2024, claims that the federal government was disbursing N30,000 in relief funds to all Nigerians began circulating online. This came a month after president Bola Tinubu met with state governors and leaders from the private sector to discuss how to cushion the effects of the economic crisis, particularly the rising cost of food in the country. Africa Check found no evidence of such a relief programme.
Similarly, scam online giveaways – where someone pretends to give money or prizes away for free – are also common. Although celebrities and companies often do share such giveaways on social media, scammers also use this as a way to solicit personal information or money from social media users. They promise high-value prizes or take advantage of special periods, such as Ramadan, to make the offer more believable.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer and reflection. During this time, Muslims are encouraged to be particularly generous and donate to those in need.
In February 2026, Africa Check identified fake giveaways in the name of Mufti Ismail Menk, a popular Islamic preacher; Ali Ibrahim Pantami, a Nigerian Islamic scholar and politician; Saliu Mustapha, a Nigerian senator and traditional leader; Nigerian billionaire and philanthropist Aliko Dangote; and even telecommunications company MTN.
Many social media accounts claiming to represent financial technology, or fintech, investment firms and loan platforms are not recognised by the government or regulators, such as the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) or Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).
They claim to offer large loans, unrealistic returns on investment, and seemingly require little to no paperwork or any background checks to apply.
Such scams tend to attract attention, especially from those in financial need. Because the platforms operate without proper registration and oversight, they can engage in unethical, harmful or illegal practices that put borrowers at risk.
Babatunde Akin-Moses, chief executive officer of Sycamore, a fintech platform, told Africa Check that the danger of using a fake fintech platform was that users might lose money.
“The regulators typically have a list of approved players. One can check the SEC website for licensed fund managers, the FCCPC for licensed lenders, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, or CBN, for approved microfinance banks.”
He also said that fake platforms could misuse data by selling it to third parties without people’s consent, invading their privacy.
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System has said that digital payment fraud of N25.85 billion ($18.8 million) occurred in 2025, down from N52.26 billion ($38.15 million) in 2024.
According to the CBN‘s fintech report released in 2025, Nigeria faces an enduring reputational burden linked to digital fraud driven by a combination of domestic criminal activity and cross-border actors exploiting global digital platforms.
In an effort to clamp down on fraud, fintech platforms claim to be “adopting AI” for fraud detection.
Akin-Moses told Africa Check that regulators could minimise the negative impact through consumer education and sanctions for erring parties.
Unemployment remains a major issue in Nigeria. While job hunting, people often fall for fraudulent offers on social media.
These fake ads promise high pay for little to no experience or ask for upfront fees. Others tell applicants their chances of being hired will improve if they share the ads “widely”, or comment on the ad with their phone numbers or bank details, presumably to harvest personal data.
In Nigeria, such job scams increasingly involve networking firms, also known as multi-level marketing businesses that make money from selling a product and recruiting people.
A Ponzi scheme is a type of investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new investors. Ponzi scheme organisers often promise to invest money on behalf of people and generate high returns with little or no risk. But in many cases, the fraudsters do not actually invest the money.
In 2025, Nigerian investors experienced an estimated $1 billion in losses from a Ponzi scheme called Crypto Bridge Exchange, or CBEX. The SEC noted that Nigerians lost an estimated N300.2 billion ($219.19 million) to fraudulent investment schemes in recent years.
According to Adeniyi, economic hardship, lack of patience, greed and a “get-rich-quick syndrome” are among the reasons Nigerians continue to fall for Ponzi schemes.
“When people do not have enough patience to grow anything, or they want to see overnight success, they fall victim to schemes like this.
“Even though it keeps recurring, people still fall victim, because of the huge population we have in Nigeria, so there is a tendency for more people to get scammed because they didn’t pay attention in the past. And also – the more sophisticated technology is getting, the wiser those behind the Ponzi schemes are getting.”
Scammers continue to try to infiltrate the Nigerian cryptocurrency market, which reached $92.1 billion in transactions in January 2026.
In February, the Nigerian police arrested seven suspects running an online investment scam centre specialising in crypto fraud in Delta state. The scammers used 500 social media accounts to spam and engage with victims.
In several cases, people who invested with such platforms were unable to withdraw their money after depositing it.
The SEC has repeatedly warned against investing in unlicensed crypto and foreign exchange platforms. It has also highlighted plans to tackle investment and crypto fraud in 2026.
According to Nigeria’s federal government, there is a deficit of 15 million housing units in the country. As a result, Nigerians often struggle to find affordable and habitable housing, creating room for scammers to take advantage.
Real estate and property management scams often involve fake listings, pressure to pay upfront fees without seeing the property, or impersonating agents or landlords to steal money. Common red flags include suspiciously low rent, refusal to show the property in person and urgent, high-pressure tactics.
While many people seek genuine romantic partnerships online, scammers create fake personas to start romantic relationships with unsuspecting social media users, gain their trust, and then manipulate them into sending money or providing sensitive financial details for false emergencies, investments or travel. These fake accounts are often found on dating apps, social media and gaming sites.
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) traced one such case to a Nigerian living in the country’s capital, Abuja. A Romanian business executive who thought she was investing in a humanitarian project by the crown prince of Dubai was instead drawn into a romance scam that cost her more than $2.5 million.
In another instance, a 24-year-old was arrested in connection with a N48.5 million (about $38,900) romance scam. In a statement, the police revealed that the young man joined a fraud syndicate in 2023, specialising in romance scams on Facebook and Instagram.
Chikezie Omeje, the Africa editor of OCCRP, told Africa Check that it is hard to estimate the number of people affected by romance scams because most victims do not report them.
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“Most victims are often ashamed of falling for such a scam,” he said.
Omeje said that the OCCRP had noticed a pattern of scammers combining romance scams with fake business opportunities, luring victims into sending them money.
“The scammers usually groom their victims for several months to gain their confidence before asking for huge financial commitments. This kind of scam often involves a series of manipulations that unfold gradually over a long period of time. Once the victims start sending money, they believe that sending more money would enable them to unlock whatever rewards that the scammers have promised them.”
How to stay safe
Scams continue to thrive online, putting both vulnerable and guarded social media users at risk. Here’s how you can protect yourself.
Verify the source or person: Always confirm offers or messages from banks, fintechs or government agencies by consulting their official websites or verified social media pages. To verify the identity of an individual, conduct a reverse image search of the profile picture to check whether the person is who they claim to be. If you find the same photo elsewhere online, there is cause for concern.
Avoid suspicious links: Links sent through WhatsApp or shared on social media may lead to fake websites designed to steal your information. Avoid clicking on such links unless you are certain of their authenticity.
Keep personal and banking details secure: Never give out your bank verification number, ATM pin, banking passwords or card details. Legitimate organisations will not ask for these details online or over the phone. And several banks continue to reiterate that they will not ask for your banking details.
Avoid paying any upfront fees: Legitimate loans, grants, jobs or relief packages do not require “processing” or “activation” fees as part of the application. Requests for money in order to get more are an immediate red flag.
Watch out for AI-generated images and videos: Scammers use photos, videos and voice notes that look and sound real to impersonate government officials, influencers or celebrities. Know the clues that something has been generated using AI.
Check whether fintechs are registered: Legal lenders must appear on the FFPC’s list of approved or conditionally approved platforms. Before applying for a loan, check whether the platform is compliant. Similarly, all investment platforms in Nigeria are required to register with the SEC before operating.
Ask questions: Staying safe from online scams requires constant vigilance. Adopt a questioning attitude, especially when something sounds too good to be true.