By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around Finance, AI, energy and renewable energy.
I was 20 when I first got scammed. I lost $500 in Bitcoin which, at the time, felt like losing everything. I had just landed a good job, no rent to pay, no responsibilities, and was saving almost all my income.
That’s when I stumbled upon the world of Bitcoin. Back then, it wasn’t popular in Kenya, not in everyday conversations and not in the media. Somehow, my algorithm picked it up and started feeding me content about people making insane profits online.
So I went digging. This was before Binance or the user-friendly platforms we have now. We used LocalBitcoins.com, a basic, peer-to-peer marketplace where you could buy or sell Bitcoin directly with strangers. It wasn’t a scam site, that’s just how things worked in those early days.
The scam came later on Instagram. A page with 50,000 followers promised to double my Bitcoin in a week. They posted screenshots and testimonials from satisfied clients. Their posts stretched back a year. Everything looked legit. That, I thought, was due diligence. I sent my $500.
It was gone in hours. That’s how I learned my first expensive lesson in greed and ignorance.
Sadly, my story isn’t unique. Every year, Kenyans lose billions through scams dressed up as investment clubs, Saccos, forex trading companies, housing projects, or crypto opportunities. According to TransUnion, a typical Kenyan fraud victim loses about Ksh117,000 per incident. “
They all follow the same script, smooth talkers promising guaranteed returns. By the time you realize what’s happening, the directors have vanished, the website shows a 404 error, only admins can send messages in the WhatsApp group, and the company is trending at number one on X for all the wrong reasons.
So why do we keep falling for it?
Hope, Greed, and Ignorance
Most people don’t fall for scams because they’re stupid, they fall because they are hopeful. They want a better life, and they want it faster than their salary can provide. The scammer simply convinces them that they can use what they have to get what they don’t skipping the slow, patient process of creating real value and being paid for it.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you truly understood how money and markets work, you’d immediately sense the lie. A 15% annual return is a strong investment in any economy. So when someone promises to double your money in days, that is delusional.
My problem back then wasn’t just greed. It was ignorance disguised as research. I thought checking followers and comments counted as verification. It didn’t. It just made me the perfect target.
Ignorance is expensive and it’s generational. Thuita Gatero
We glorify success, the car, the apartment, the lifestyle not the years of saving and not the spreadsheet. That’s why the cycle keeps repeating itself: a scam collapses today, a new one launches tomorrow and the same crowd lines up again.
The Real Solution
Financial literacy matters but greed rarely waits for a lesson.
So here’s a simpler rulebook from the financial literacy circles:
- Only invest in regulated assets.
If things go wrong, there’s a regulator to hold accountable. If there’s no regulator in sight, that is your first red flag. - Only put your money where you understand the business.
Ask yourself:- What is the demand and supply?
- How are returns generated?
- Who is the counterparty?
- What happens if things go wrong?
- Can I explain this to a 12-year-old without using buzzwords?
Every scam begins with a sweet story. Try getting anyone excited about T-bills, bonds, or special funds doing 15–20% a year. Or about starting a business that might only succeed after five years if you’re lucky. Or putting aside KSh10,000 a month into the stock market for the next 20 or 30 years. That is too traditional and boring for 2025.
But sometimes, boredom is wisdom, informed awareness can save your next paycheck. Honestly, the smartest investment you will ever make is learning how not to lose money.