It started like any other Tuesday morning. I was busy trying to finish a story I’ve been working on, when I received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number with a +258 prefix. I immediately recognised it as a Mozambican number, which caught my attention.
The sender claimed to be a recruiter for Temu, the popular e-commerce platform. When they said “hi,” I didn’t immediately suspect a scam. In fact, given the Mozambican number, I thought they might be a potential contributor to our pan-African news platform.
I responded: “If you are for real, we publish a pan-African online newspaper, Africanewsbits.com. You can send me stories from your area. You don’t have to know how to write a good story, just describe the issue, we will investigate and publish.”
Instead of engaging with my offer, they immediately launched into their pitch:
“Good morning! I’m reaching out from Temu’s marketing department. We’re looking for individuals to help increase our product visibility. Would you be interested in a part-time opportunity that pays ₦1,500 [$1.11] for every two products you screenshot? No registration fees, and you could earn ₦80,000 – ₦200,000 [$59.26-$148.15] daily!”
I found this odd. Why would someone with a Mozambican number be recruiting Nigerians for Temu? And why ignore my genuine business proposition to immediately push this “opportunity”? Something felt off, but I was curious to see where this would lead.
The suspicious pitch
Without providing any personal information, the scammer jumped straight into their recruitment script. They didn’t even ask if I used Telegram but immediately invited me to continue our conversation there. On Telegram, they explained the “job” in more detail:
“You’ll browse Temu’s platform, take screenshots of products we assign, and submit them through our task portal. This helps increase product visibility in our algorithm. For every two products, you earn ₦1,500 [$1.11]. Complete enough tasks, and you can make ₦80,000-₦200,000 [$59.26-$148.15] daily! We’ll register you as a regular employee in our marketing affiliate industry.”
The job sounded absurdly lucrative for such minimal effort. Screenshot products and earn more in a day than many formal jobs pay in a month? As someone who runs a news platform, I’m naturally skeptical of offers that sound too good to be true.
Red flags to watch out for
Things were suspicious from the start. There was no formal interview, no questions about my qualifications or experience. Just a generic pitch sent to what was likely hundreds of random numbers.
The scammer could sent a link to what they called the “official Temu task platform” where I could supposedly start working immediately. The website mimicked Temu’s colours and logo, but the URL was clearly suspicious: ttaskteam-x3.com.
The messages kept coming, creating an artificial sense of urgency:
“We have limited spots! Complete your registration quickly before they fill up. Many Nigerians are already earning with us!”
Predictable money request
As I anticipated, the scammer eventually mentioned I would need to complete a “qualification task” to “activate my account.” This involved depositing ₦5,000 [$3.70] to show my “commitment” and “fund my working account.”
“It’s just a formality,” they assured me. “You’ll earn it back with your first few tasks, plus much more!”
This confirmed everything. As a journalist who has covered similar scams targeting Nigerians, I recognised the classic pattern: hook people with promises of easy money, build excitement, then ask for an “initial deposit” that victims will never see again.
Investigating further
Though I was already certain this was a scam, I decided to research more thoroughly, partly out of journalistic instinct and partly to gather information that might help others avoid similar traps.
A quick search for “Temu screenshot jobs” revealed dozens of warnings about this exact scam. Temu doesn’t offer jobs involving taking screenshots of products. Their legitimate opportunities include an affiliate program where you earn commissions from actual sales, not from taking screenshots.
My investigation revealed consistent patterns in these scams:
- They use international phone numbers to appear more legitimate
- They promise unrealistic earnings (₦80,000-₦200,000 daily)[$59.26-$148.15] for minimal effort
- Communication happens exclusively through WhatsApp or Telegram, never official channels
- They create false urgency about “limited positions”
- They eventually ask for money to “unlock” earnings or “activate” accounts
- They use fake websites that mimic legitimate companies
Many victims reported losing substantial amounts after depositing initial “qualification fees,” then being asked for increasingly larger amounts to “unlock” their supposed earnings. Some had lost their life savings chasing phantom payments that never materialised.
Confronting the scammer
I decided to confront the scammer with what I knew. I replied:
“This is a well-documented scam. Temu doesn’t offer jobs taking screenshots for ₦1,500[$1.11]. They have a legitimate affiliate program based on actual sales commissions, not screenshots. No legitimate company asks for deposits before you can work. I run a news platform and I’ve seen this scam targeting vulnerable Nigerians. I’ll be reporting this number to the EFCC.”
Their response was telling – they became defensive and then aggressive, insisting I was missing a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and that I needed to “trust the process.” When I asked for official Temu documentation or an email from a legitimate Temu domain, they couldn’t provide any.
I blocked the number and reported it to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through their website, including screenshots of our conversation as evidence. I also published a warning on Africanewsbits.com to alert our readers.
As someone involved with a pan-African news platform, this experience highlighted something important: these scams transcend borders. A Mozambican number targeting Nigerians shows how scammers operate across the continent, exploiting our shared economic challenges.
These scams aren’t just individual tragedies – they undermine trust in legitimate digital opportunities that could actually benefit African economies. They extract money from those who can least afford it, perpetuating cycles of poverty and disillusionment.
Turning this into journalism
As a journalist focused on stories that mainstream media neglects, I realised this experience offered an opportunity to investigate these scams more deeply. I began collecting similar stories from across Africa, documenting the various tactics used by these scammers:
- Cross-border operations: Scammers using phone numbers from one African country to target citizens of another, making law enforcement tracking more difficult.
- E-commerce brand exploitation: Misusing the names of legitimate platforms like Temu, Jumia, and Amazon to appear credible.
- Task-based scams: Offering payment for seemingly simple tasks that later require “deposits” or “activation fees.”
- Targeting specific demographics: Focusing on countries with high unemployment rates and economic challenges.
Through my platform, I’ve now published several investigative pieces on digital scams targeting Africans. Each article includes practical advice on identifying and avoiding these schemes.
Lessons for all
In our reporting, we emphasise these key takeaways:
- Question unrealistic earnings: No legitimate opportunity pays enormous sums for minimal work.
- Never pay to get paid: Legitimate employers never ask you to pay them first.
- Verify official channels: Check company websites and use their official contact methods to confirm opportunities.
- Be skeptical of foreign numbers: Be extra cautious when approached by international numbers offering local opportunities.
- Report scams: Document and report to authorities like the EFCC to help protect others.
Building digital resilience
Through Africanewsbits.com, we’re working to build what I call “digital resilience” across Africa. This means creating communities that share information about online threats and collectively protect each other through awareness and education.
The promise of easy money vanished quickly when confronted with facts, but something more valuable emerged – an opportunity to use journalism to protect vulnerable people from sophisticated scams that cross borders and exploit our shared challenges.
As Africans increasingly participate in the digital economy, we need media platforms that spotlight these threats and empower people with the knowledge to protect themselves. That’s the kind of pan-African journalism I’m committed to – stories that might not make international headlines but directly impact the daily lives and financial security of our communities.
