Abdulrasaq Kamaldeen
A Point of Sale (POS) vendor, Ariyo Opeyemi, held her phone up to check the latest global issues on Facebook. While scrolling, she noticed an advertisement from an unregistered data merchant, operating under the name “Danodata.” Lamenting her experience, she said, “I was scammed of N10,000.”
Attracted by the unusually low data prices offered by Danodata, Opeyemi was enticed to try their service. “The prices were lower than my regular subscription,” she recalled, “I discovered it on Facebook.”
Without much hesitation, Opeyemi signed up for a data subscription through the link provided on Facebook. She funded her wallet on the data subscription website, believing her transaction was successful. However, the data she attempted to sell to her customers never reached them. “Initially, I funded the wallet with N1,000, but whenever I tried to sell data to a customer, the transaction would succeed, but it wouldn’t reflect on their phone,” she recounted.
Frustrated by repeated calls from her clients, Opeyemi decided to contact the administrator of the platform. “I messaged the admin, and he told me I needed to fund a minimum of N5,000 to activate my wallet. So, I sent another N4,000 to complete the amount and tried again, but it was the same outcome.”
The administrator then instructed Opeyemi to fund her wallet with N5,000 in a single transaction, insisting that anything less—even N4,999—wouldn’t work.
Desperate to recover her initial payment, she decided to send N5,000 all at once. “I didn’t want to lose my previous N5,000. After making another transfer of N5,000, he declared my verification complete. But I was still unable to sell confirmed data to my customers,” she explained.
After paying a total of N10,000, the merchant asked Opeyemi to fund her account with an additional N50,000 for further verification. Realizing she had been duped, she decided to back out. “He said my app had a network glitch and that I would need to fund my wallet with N50,000 for verification. After the verification, he claimed I could withdraw the N50,000 back.”
When Opeyemi refused, the scammer tried to reassure her, saying, “Don’t panic, the management will help you fund N20,000, so you only need to add another N20,000.” At this point, the scammer credited her wallet with N20,000 from his side. “It was at this moment I realized I had been scammed, and I backed out,” she added.
Opeyemi’s experience is not unique. Another victim, a teacher named Lawal Olami, was devastated to discover he had also been swindled. “I saw it on Facebook. It was so painful—I was scammed out of N10,950,” he said.
Speaking to this reporter, Boluwatife Farayola, another data vendor, expressed her disappointment. “I feel bad and sad when I get scammed,” she said.
Over 62% of Facebook Users Have Fallen Victim to Scams
According to new data from cybersecurity firm Lookout, “Around 62% of Facebook users encounter scams every week, while scam activity increases during the holidays—so it’s important to stay vigilant to avoid becoming a victim.”
SocialMediaToday also reported, “19% of social media users have fallen victim to scams on Facebook. The most common scam is the ‘Win a Free Prize/Free Gift’ scam, with 46% of victims reporting losing $100 or more.”
Victims Speak Out
Many people have fallen victim to these scams, with numerous complaints posted on social media.
One victim, Nweze Amobi, issued a warning: “Stay away from Danodata—they’re scammers. They swindled me out of N30,250. After funding their site, I couldn’t access any data or airtime.”
Another victim, Adeola Tunji, shared her frustration: “I was just scammed by these people who call themselves Dyno Data—N10,300 in this economy. Where will I start from?”
Similar scams have been reported with other fraudulent companies like Binodata. Businessman Olanipekun Omotosho Ezekiel believed Binodata to be trustworthy and funded his wallet. “I thought they were reliable since their data was cheaper. But I couldn’t complete any transactions, and they told me I needed to add N30,000 to make my account N50,000 so I could withdraw the full amount. The Nigerian government needs to look into these scammers.”
Another victim, Samco Omo Pastor, posted on Facebook: “They asked me to fund my wallet, and I did, but the airtime and data I sold never got delivered. They told me to fund my wallet with N5,000, which I did, but it still didn’t work.”
He continued, “Now I have N15,000 in my wallet, and it’s still the same. They said the management would add N20,000 to my wallet, and I should transfer another N15,000 to make it N50,000. They claimed the demo account can only withdraw N50,000 if I want to get my money back,” he said, hopelessly.
Undercover Investigation
During an undercover conversation with a scammer whose name is undisclosed, the reporter informed him that after funding his wallet, the data did not appear.
He responded, “You need to fund a minimum of N5,000 to validate the authenticity of your wallet, and you’ll receive a 20% discount as a welcome bonus. It’s just to verify your wallet so you can make purchases on the platform.”
When the reporter asked if the funds could be used for data, he clarified, “You must fund your wallet with N5,000 in one transaction to activate your account. Once verified, you can use the full amount, including the welcome bonus.”
