A WhatsApp group using the name ‘Piggy Vest Investment’ is targeting Nigerians with promises of doubling their money in less than an hour. The group is not connected to the PiggyVest brand.
Piggyvest confirmed the group’s illegitimacy on a call with FIJ on Tuesday. The call representative told FIJ that the organisation did not have agents interfacing with customers on WhatsApp and most certainly does not offer such return on investment (ROI).
At press time, the WhatsApp group had 542 members. At its centre is a woman who simply identifies herself as ‘Grace’. The group is administered by two other individuals.
Once someone joins, Grace sends a direct message with the same pitch:
“IT IS A PLATFORM network set aside to assist the less privileged and reduce the rate of unemployment in the country… whereby you INVEST AND GET DOUBLE of whatever YOU INVEST IN NOT LESS than 45 MINUTES.”
Grace claims the platform is “very genuine and authentic” and tells potential investors that amounts between N10,000 and N50,000 will be doubled within 60 minutes.
Payments are requested via an FCMB account belonging to Ajakaye Rebecca, who may be involved in the scheme or could be an unwitting accomplice.
Victims receive what appears to be a registration confirmation, including an image labelled “registration successful” and a screenshot resembling an OPay account confirmation page. However, no actual sign-up process takes place.
OLD SCHEMES, NEW NAME
On Piggy Vest, Grace uploads short testimonial videos of people claiming an unnamed platform is “real” and “paying”. She does this within intervals. FIJ observed that none of the videos mention “Piggy Vest Investment” directly.
FIJ traced the videos to previous scams that used the same method and promised similar ROI.
In 2022, BOLDGAINS operated in a similar way and left a retiree poorer by N132,000 after promising a 100% return. FIJ reported this incident. The same platform used WhatsApp recruitment to defraud a Lagos-based data analyst of N20,000.
FIJ traced another video to a CBN Helping Hands scheme from 2021. Between 2021 and 2023, “CBN Helping Hands” posed as a Central Bank of Nigeria poverty alleviation programme, offering to double investments in under two hours.
The CBN later publicly denied any involvement in such schemes and warned Nigerians against them. All of these now-identified scams used a formula similar to ‘Piggy Vest Investments’. They use the name of a trusted brand, promise unrealistic returns, recycle testimonial videos, and collect money through personal accounts.
WHAT THE LAW SAYS
In Nigeria, impersonating a business to defraud people is a criminal offence. The Criminal Code Act makes personation punishable by up to three years in prison, or up to 14 years in more serious cases.
Sections 419 and 421 also criminalise obtaining money by false pretence and cheating, both carrying significant prison terms.
The Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, includes provisions against online identity theft and impersonation. Section 22 prescribes penalties of up to seven years in prison, N5 million in fines, or both. Sections 14 and 15 criminalise using electronic messages to defraud. The Act also allows for asset seizure and restitution to victims.
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