Paga issues fraud alert over fake ₦50,000 WhatsApp giveaway messages

Nigerian fintech company Paga has issued a public fraud alert warning its customers about a fraudulent WhatsApp campaign impersonating the company and offering cash rewards to unsuspecting users.

The company said it is not running any giveaway or promotional campaign and urged customers to disregard messages claiming otherwise. The fake promotion, circulating via WhatsApp, is being sent from a US phone number and promises recipients ₦50,000 rewards, a common hook used by scammers to lure victims into clicking malicious links or revealing personal and financial information.

Paga urged users not to click any suspicious links attached to the messages, not to share personal information with unknown contacts, and to report such messages directly to the company through its official channels.

The warning arrives at a particularly active moment for Paga. Just a day before the fraud alert, the company announced a partnership with blockchain platform TBook, enabling Africans to invest in tokenised real-world assets, including real estate, agricultural projects, and private businesses, via the Sui blockchain.

The expanded profile the partnership brings may have made Paga a more attractive name for scammers to impersonate, as higher brand visibility often correlates with increased phishing activity targeting a company’s user base.

The broader context matters. Phishing scams targeting fintech users through WhatsApp and other messaging platforms have become increasingly sophisticated and frequent across Nigeria and Africa. Fraudsters have repeatedly exploited the trust users place in familiar brand names, mimicking official communications closely enough to fool users who are not looking carefully.

The use of a US number in this instance is a deliberate tactic; it lends the message a veneer of international legitimacy while making it harder to trace.

How Paga users can avoid the scam

The pattern behind this scam is one Nigerians have seen before.

A message arrives from an unfamiliar number claiming to be from a trusted company. It announces a promotion, a reward, or a prize. It creates urgency and asks you to click a link or provide details to claim what you have won. Once you do, your data, your account credentials, or your money can be compromised.

Paga said it will never ask customers to claim rewards through WhatsApp messages from unverified numbers. Any promotion run by the company would be announced through its verified social media accounts and official app notifications.

If you receive a message claiming to be from Paga on WhatsApp offering cash rewards, the advice is simple: do not engage, do not click, and do not share any information. Report it to Paga directly through its official support channels.

Also read: Paga, TBook launch blockchain-powered platform for Africans to invest in tokenised global assets