Kenya: Exposing Three Facebook Pages Impersonating Well-Known Kenyan Steel Manufacturer Mabati Rolling Mills

IN SHORT: These three Facebook pages using the name of Mabati Rolling Mills, a popular steel manufacturer in Kenya, are out to scam you. Don’t fall for their discounted products.

The Facebook pages Mabati Rolling Mills, Mabati Rolling Mdogo Mdogo and Mabati Factory 0736090412 would have you believe that they are run by Mabati Rolling Mills, a leading manufacturer of steel products in Kenya.

The pages use either the company’s logo or name to advertise attractive offers on the roofing and building materials for which the company is widely known.

In a bid to entice users, the pages promise huge discounts on the products and claim to offer free delivery nationwide.

The page’s posts have been republished in Facebook groups with thousands of members and have attracted enquiries from interested users.

But are they to be trusted? We checked.

Imposter Facebook pages

Africa Check noted that the pages had reposted their adverts dozens of times in Facebook groups. This is a common trend with fake pages running bogus adverts. Genuine companies rarely repost their adverts across Facebook groups.

We also noted that the three pages are not linked to any websites and ask users to apply for the products via WhatsApp. This is a big red flag. Reputable companies usually have websites or apps where customers can view, enquire about and even buy their products.

We visited the official Mabati Rolling Mills website and found links to its genuine social media accounts, including Facebook.

Its official Facebook page is verified and has more than 126,000 followers. The page’s transparency section shows that it was created on 30 January 2015. None of the heavily discounted offers are advertised on the page.

The contact numbers listed on the pages in question do not match those on the company’s website. Instead, the company has listed 0788202020 as its official contact number.

Mabati Rolling Mills has warned its customers not to fall for such offers.

The pages are imposters and should be ignored.

Read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them here.