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Rent Gone Rogue. Digital Deception Ni Real!

Picture this, umetulia kwa digs yako on a Sunday morning. You're sipping cold juice and the sun is out, motoo kama pasii. You remember how much fun you had last night so you smile to yourself and grab your phone, scroll the videos until you find the perfect one. "Hii itawamaliza", you say to yourself then hit send to Whatsapp status. 

Mara hiyo hiyo the comments start streaming in "Where’s this?" "Hata invite??" "Bawling!!" "raha jipe mwenyewe" "vunja mifupaa" You smile to yourself again, proud of this incredible social media achievement. As you start replying to mafans, another comment vibrates your phone "Unajivinjari na haujalipa rent?" Kucheki fiti, ni landlord manze!

Unashangaa "what is my landi talking about? Nishalipa rent!" Teketeke unaingia Messages unaona 'transaction successful’ which means ulituma rent. Then it hits you like a ton of bricks. "Ama nilituma the wrong place??" 

I know what you guys are thinking, and NO, this didn't happen to me! This happened to my buddy Jake na sahii anatafuta rent coz landlord amedai hataki kusikia story za jaba.

Situation yake imenifungua macho, because this past week his life has played out like a movie. The only thing missing was some popcorn. 

Hivi ndio kulienda, during hapa kule za end month, Jake received a text from his 'landlord' saying "Dear Tenant, we have updated the rent collection details. Please send your rent to 0110456043. Thank you!" Na jake aka-respond "Noted"

Without thinking much about it, he sent his October rent to the new contact. Imagine his shock when the landlord told him "Hujalipa rent!’’

Immediately Jake jumped out of WhatsApp, akadungia landlord accusing him of being a scam. Naye landlord akajam accusing Jake of being a scammer. Kumbe both of them have been scammed. On further inspection, walishikanisha that the text came from an actual fraudster, yaani scammer hatari. Watu wangu, this is not an isolated case. Many people have been conned using simple texts saying things like “Tuma kwa hii number, mtoto amefukuzwa tuma school fees hapa, mtoto ni mgonjwa tuma pesa ya hospitali’’ and other short tales.

My friends, niskizeni fiti! Don't trust messages from unknown contacts, verify contacts before sending any money or making any payments, usipo kitawaramba. Kaa radar, usikuwe kama Jake!

Watch: Be Aware of Scammers

Over & Out,

The Witty Banker.

Sep 29, 2023 Banking

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