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A section of Kenyans who had invested their cash in an online App known as Amazon Web Worker are counting their losses after the App was deleted over the weekend from the Google Play Store, without any official communication.
Gullible investors were lured into this deadly trap with different investment options on the App, offering returns of up to 38.5% for a deposit of 7 days.
When the App went down, hundreds of Kenyans who had opened accounts and created downlines or referrals made of close friends or relatives. Those who had cash in the system could not access it.
It has since been established that this App is not affiliated with the international retailer Amazon. The website that hosted this platform is no longer available online neither are the pages on Facebook and Twitter.
Victims who shared their data on the Amazon Web Worker platform have been advised to inform their bank, change passwords for online accounts including M-PESA or report the matter to the police anti-fraud unit.
While Safaricom has revealed plans to partner with Amazon, officials at the telco said this is still a work in progress.
Thus, Amazon Web Worker App with an M-PESA component has been described as a Ponzi scheme by fraudsters.
To register into the member system of this Mobile App, players were being asked for such personal details as full names, mobile phone number, and M-PESA Account particulars.
In the financial investment section, a member was told they could earn an interest of 38.5% if they locked their initial investment for seven days, 204.0% for 30 days, 600% for 75 days, 1,020% for 120 days, 1,620% for 180 days and 3,420% for 360 days.
A referral link has also been shut down which the designers of the Amazon Web Worker App were using to lure unsuspecting investors into the scam.
Safaricom is reportedly following up on M-PESA till numbers that could have been taken from the firm then edited and used by crooks to lure clients to the App.
In a text, the fraudsters explained the unavailability of the App in the Google Play Store to change the payment broker from a firm known as Renak to Kivaa.
The schemers said this was due to the increased number of subscribers and volume of transactions on the App, promising subscribers that the App will be up again on Tuesday, 18th May 2021.
This article was originally published on kenyanwallstreet.com.
