Why is this still happening in Nigeria in 2026?

[Hypnotizer]

So yesterday I was trying to figure something out with an elderly person phone and they suddenly I saw a WhatsApp message pop up from their workplace group chat, it catches my attention because I saw “Bitcoin” in the message that popped up. Behold it is a scam WhatsApp group advertisement that was created to defraud people by promising a 2x return in just two hours!


They used one of the member’s WhatsApp to send messages to the workplace group chat and they made it sound like a testimony that he actually tried it, you know Nigerians would know something is a Ponzi and still do it because they think they are wiser than the thief.. they’ll say they want to use the fact that these scammers actually pay the first group of people that “invest” before they exit with later investors money and the member said he has already gotten his..  we have seen this recently with the NRC stuff.

After like two hours, the member made a phone call to another member of the group and told him his WhatsApp has been hacked, proving he wasn’t the one that sent this messages.. the scammers themselves did.


I know it’s a Ponzi scheme, many people would recognize it at first glance but the question here is whether the awareness about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is still very small amongst average slightly elderly people and many people still haven’t really understand what it is? Because this is 2026 and with how adoption is said to have increased in Africa and Nigeria in particular, I don’t expect to be seeing this type of obvious scam associated directly with bitcoin.

[Sunshine1525]

I know it’s a Ponzi scheme, many people would recognize it at first glance but the question here is whether the awareness about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is still very small amongst average slightly elderly people and many people still haven’t really understand what it is? Because this is 2026 and with how adoption is said to have increased in Africa and Nigeria in particular, I don’t expect to be seeing this type of obvious scam associated directly with bitcoin.

Internet wise, most elderly people are not very smart some of them don't even understand cryptography or know how to dictate scammer those are the type of people these scammer are after. Many of them would fall for it thinking they've seen a good investment opportunity not knowing that Bitcoin is not a ponzi scheme whereby you put your money into it and get returns immediately.

If you notice, the elderly ones are the victims of ponzi scams that's why more awareness should be created to help them know about Bitcoin and how to avoid being scammed throuh it.

[Bitcoin.com97]

I know it’s a Ponzi scheme, many people would recognize it at first glance but the question here is whether the awareness about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is still very small amongst average slightly elderly people and many people still haven’t really understand what it is? Because this is 2026 and with how adoption is said to have increased in Africa and Nigeria in particular, I don’t expect to be seeing this type of obvious scam associated directly with bitcoin.

Internet wise, most elderly people are not very smart some of them don't even understand cryptography or know how to dictate scammer those are the type of people these scammer are after. Many of them would fall for it thinking they've seen a good investment opportunity not knowing that Bitcoin is not a ponzi scheme whereby you put your money into it and get returns immediately.

If you notice, the elderly ones are the victims of ponzi scams that's why more awareness should be created to help them know about Bitcoin and how to avoid being scammed throuh it.

That is not entirely true ,both young adult falls victims too because of greed,once they hear invest in this and get this in few days or hours they quickly jump into the offer,so I can't say it's only elderly once that are mostly likely to fall for it ,but all the same more awareness should be created, because it marvels me to see the rate at which people falls for this scammers , whenever they create such things ,many don't think twice they invest immediately they hear the amount to get back in few days,which is purely greed that has misled many into such troubles.

[Sammye3]

It is not just about the elderlies anymore, because even some ignorant and greedy young people would fall for this scam, some might be aware of the potential risk but still decide to risk it and others might not have an idea of it at all. This is why literacy in both the academic and digital world is important, learning does not stop within the school borders but also exist outside that.

 It is no doubt that the elderlies are mostly victims of these scams due to lack of awareness and exposure to social content, some are retired and could be looking for a stay at home profit generator without making a proper research to verify the authenticity of that investment.

[Hewlet]

I know it’s a Ponzi scheme, many people would recognize it at first glance but the question here is whether the awareness about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is still very small amongst average slightly elderly people and many people still haven’t really understand what it is? Because this is 2026 and with how adoption is said to have increased in Africa and Nigeria in particular, I don’t expect to be seeing this type of obvious scam associated directly with bitcoin.

Internet wise, most elderly people are not very smart some of them don't even understand cryptography or know how to dictate scammer those are the type of people these scammer are after. Many of them would fall for it thinking they've seen a good investment opportunity not knowing that Bitcoin is not a ponzi scheme whereby you put your money into it and get returns immediately.

Unfortunately, most of the people that will even fall victim of this sort of petty scam is not elderly people but the young lazy folks that are thinking that in one simple way, they can just hit it big.

You don't want to imagine what being broke and desperate for money can cause someone to do. Once you're at a state where you're looking for an investment option because you lack a means to wealth creation, the least Ponzi scheme strategy will work against you. An average broke guy is usually emotional about his choice and it's always easy for them to fall prey of simple Ponzi like this.

[Zackz5000]

That's a ponzi scheme i don't know why Nigerians hasn't learn anything yet, Bitcoin that is volatile that some will come and tell that you should invest with 50k and you get 150k or there about within some few days and you believe it ? No body can predict what will happen in Bitcoin investment what people only do is to speculate about the price of Bitcoin, Bitcoin is a long time investment it's not some kind of investment scam investment that you will invest today and make two times of what you invested just in a short time , i just wish we can learn to avoid falling into the hands of these scammers.

[Finebone]

It's very sad that our elderly parents are the ones that are being targeted this days, because they knows that they are not that informed technologically. Another thing that may save them even though they may not be that informed is if they are not greedy, because those that are greedy will easily fall for this cheap tricks, since they will believe that their money will be doubled in the next hour or two.

 These are why I will always say that ignorance is more costly, because no matter how the tricks these scammers uses, if you are well informed on how they operate, it's near impossible to fall for any of their tricks.

[Rockson1]

That's a ponzi scheme i don't know why Nigerians hasn't learn anything yet, Bitcoin that is volatile that some will come and tell that you should invest with 50k and you get 150k or there about within some few days and you believe it ? No body can predict what will happen in Bitcoin investment what people only do is to speculate about the price of Bitcoin, Bitcoin is a long time investment it's not some kind of investment scam investment that you will invest today and make two times of what you invested just in a short time , i just wish we can learn to avoid falling into the hands of these scammers.

Quick money mindset is a very difficult thing to erase completely especially those that thinks that there is something like free money somewhere, but this case is different, it is about an elderly person, most of them are not exposed to the Internet that much, they may not have the knowledge of Bitcoin, how it works and how it's been used, some persons has been victim to this shit before I mean young people not even the elderly, I think it is more about exposure.
You know the market is unpredictable because you are practically involved in Bitcoin investment right? but what about those that are not in bitcointalk that has no knowledge about Bitcoin, there should be more awareness to this, athough there has been more adoption but some people are still lacking much in knowledge.

[Emjay24]

After like two hours, the member made a phone call to another member of the group and told him his WhatsApp has been hacked, proving he wasn’t the one that sent this messages.. the scammers themselves did.

Lol.. about this, A friend of mine mistakenly posted porn in a church group chat and on seeing the mistake he made has enraged the group, he reached out to his friend which happens to be the admin and the admin both deleted the porn content and removed him from the chat, confirming to the group his Whatssap has just been hacked . I hope you can relate?
Although I'm not disputing the story, but there is no guarantee that the scammers did that, sometimes people are opportunistic and only resort to obvious defense when they achieve their aim, or pressure is high.

I know it’s a Ponzi scheme, many people would recognize it at first glance but the question here is whether the awareness about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is still very small amongst average slightly elderly people and many people still haven’t really understand what it is? Because this is 2026 and with how adoption is said to have increased in Africa and Nigeria in particular, I don’t expect to be seeing this type of obvious scam associated directly with bitcoin.

They are not tech savvy, elderly people are most vulnerable since they tend to trust easily, especially if it looks real in any way or they see testimonies, even if they are realistically fake. I had a tough time explaining to an old man that playing some of these games which promises to pay real money will not pay him a dime, until he continued contacting the customer help and they asked him to deposit some good sum in order to withdraw which he did not have.

[Makus]

A lot of elderly people are not really learned when it comes to investing in Bitcoin that's the reason why they get scammed easily. There are lots of Whatsapp and telegram groups that deceive people to invest and get double of their Bitcoin investment within a few days and people fall for it. Asides from hodling Bitcoin for either a Short or long term investment there are no other ways to make income off it, any other thing you see on social media or any platform is a lie no Mather how convincing they may look. We talk about only elderly people falling for this but we forget that a lot of young people also fall for this as well all because they are just trying to get rich quick, this mentality is the reason why a lot of people believe that Bitcoin is a ponzi scheme but they are the ones that refused to invest the right way.

[EjiukaSpecial]

In as much as more Nigerians have been sensitized and can easily spot these poorly executed moves to scam people using "crypto", there are still millions of Nigerians that can't differentiate what's real and what's not.
There are Nigerians that still fall prey to those wandering scammers, that's why we should do more to expose more people to crypto by sensitising and teaching them the basics. It might appear strange to you because you're informed but to an average Nigerian out there, such message will be treated as a fast means of making profit. They'll only understand better when their money is gone.

[Agathamay]

Truth be told that, a lot of people which I believe the vast majority of the people are yet to get very much acquainted with the whole bitcoin ecosystem and since you said the group was meant for the elderly people, don't be surprised if anyone might have fallen prey but I'm glad the user who's WhatsApp number was hacked was able to debunk the news but I'm sure someone who was already interested in the investment was the one that called the user to confirm the legitimacy of the investment and that's how gullible people can be but regardless, scammers comes in different forms and we should always be alert to identify which is scam and which is not

[gracreavix]

Looking at the whole story, I don't think better understanding of Bitcoin can prevent this. As you stated that the message came from a trusted worker WhatsApp. This is social engineering. Another angle is, what if it was from an unknown number, would they have still trusted it? Impersonation is what is called. It's best to fact check anything even if it is sent from a friend.

So people's attention can be placed at the side of understanding the basic schemes of hackers, that way they don't fall for things like this.

[Curious T]

I know it’s a Ponzi scheme, many people would recognize it at first glance but the question here is whether the awareness about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is still very small amongst average slightly elderly people and many people still haven’t really understand what it is? Because this is 2026 and with how adoption is said to have increased in Africa and Nigeria in particular, I don’t expect to be seeing this type of obvious scam associated directly with bitcoin.

With things like this, you don't need to have any knowledge about Bitcoin, you just need to know what a scam is. As adults, they should know that nobody gives you anything for free. You can't just put money into something and get double of it or 50 percent of it within a short period of time. They don't like to ask questions before rushing into certain things because of greed. The questions they should ask is what would the people be doing with the money? For you to get profit from money, that means you have used that money to do something else that gives you profit. Before a bank can give you profit on your deposit, they would have to have invested that money into something. So if a person tells you he would give you profit from your deposit, how can you not know that without investing the money, he can't get any profit? Then there is the fact that even though they actually invest, an investment is not certain to make profit. There are certain things common sense should be able to fix, but greed and love for money won't let people think.

[Shadiq]

Even though you and I live in 2026, older people may still be stuck in the 19th century, they still don't understand 2026 well. They don't have a good understanding of advanced technology and advanced scams even though they are educated, which is why scammers target these older people.

Although I haven't received such messages about Bitcoin yet, I have received messages about winning competitions or winning the lottery almost all the time. The funny thing is that I have never participated in those competitions or lotteries. Sometimes I think that scammers also need improvement training, which I can also give them.

You and I know that these kinds of messages are scams, but you may never be able to convince those older people. We should always avoid such messages and make arrangements so that strangers don't message you, especially for the elderly.

[B-BossMan]

I know it’s a Ponzi scheme, many people would recognize it at first glance but the question here is whether the awareness about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is still very small amongst average slightly elderly people and many people still haven’t really understand what it is? Because this is 2026 and with how adoption is said to have increased in Africa and Nigeria in particular, I don’t expect to be seeing this type of obvious scam associated directly with bitcoin.

With things like this, you don't need to have any knowledge about Bitcoin, you just need to know what a scam is. As adults, they should know that nobody gives you anything for free. You can't just put money into something and get double of it or 50 percent of it within a short period of time. They don't like to ask questions before rushing into certain things because of greed. The questions they should ask is what would the people be doing with the money? For you to get profit from money, that means you have used that money to do something else that gives you profit. Before a bank can give you profit on your deposit, they would have to have invested that money into something. So if a person tells you he would give you profit from your deposit, how can you not know that without investing the money, he can't get any profit? Then there is the fact that even though they actually invest, an investment is not certain to make profit. There are certain things common sense should be able to fix, but greed and love for money won't let people think.

You know all these kind of things will continue to be happening definitely, due to our own negligence toward a vital information that's everywhere circulating. The main is issues are not actually lack of know or bitcoin awareness at this point, it's a human being behaviour, in this present era now, many young guys are subjected themselves to only quick money or free money, without looking for it 8n an honest way, the scammers truly knows how to deceive or manipulate people's trust especially when they have gain an access to a familiar account and makes everything looks genuinely.

The only thing is, we have to be more careful with anything that looks like easy entry and fast returns and try and educate our elderly people, our relatives and friends, so that they will be deceived by all these things, even if they claimed to have have made alots of money from it.

[Chibit01]

After like two hours, the member made a phone call to another member of the group and told him his WhatsApp has been hacked, proving he wasn’t the one that sent this messages.. the scammers themselves did.

In 2026, people's WhatsApp is still getting hacked. Despite how popular it was for some people to just lose access to their WhatsApp. As of last year, I thought everyone could have taken 2FA protection set up on their WhatsApp seriously.

I know it’s a Ponzi scheme, many people would recognize it at first glance but the question here is whether the awareness about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is still very small amongst average slightly elderly people and many people still haven’t really understand what it is? Because this is 2026 and with how adoption is said to have increased in Africa and Nigeria in particular, I don’t expect to be seeing this type of obvious scam associated directly with bitcoin.

It's not as if the awareness is not enough, maybe not as much as some might want, or as if some of those people don't know that it's ponzi, but just like you said, they always think they can outsmart those criminals and be among those who will benefit from it before it crashes, but in reality they are just the few victims which those scammers where just waiting for to swallow, funny how no. Matter the amount of tome some of them get scammed they will always still find reason to convince their self to try another one.

[Tmoonz]

I know it’s a Ponzi scheme, many people would recognize it at first glance but the question here is whether the awareness about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is still very small amongst average slightly elderly people and many people still haven’t really understand what it is? Because this is 2026 and with how adoption is said to have increased in Africa and Nigeria in particular, I don’t expect to be seeing this type of obvious scam associated directly with bitcoin.

Internet wise, most elderly people are not very smart some of them don't even understand cryptography or know how to dictate scammer those are the type of people these scammer are after. Many of them would fall for it thinking they've seen a good investment opportunity not knowing that Bitcoin is not a ponzi scheme whereby you put your money into it and get returns immediately.

If you notice, the elderly ones are the victims of ponzi scams that's why more awareness should be created to help them know about Bitcoin and how to avoid being scammed throuh it.

That is not entirely true ,both young adult falls victims too because of greed,once they hear invest in this and get this in few days or hours they quickly jump into the offer,so I can't say it's only elderly once that are mostly likely to fall for it ,but all the same more awareness should be created, because it marvels me to see the rate at which people falls for this scammers , whenever they create such things ,many don't think twice they invest immediately they hear the amount to get back in few days,which is purely greed that has misled many into such troubles.

Of course you are right, it is not only elderly ones that are most likely to fall victim of this circumstance, do you know we can even have it that most elderly people are more smarter than some young people? This is true but no doubt about how much the younger generation are exploring in the world of Internet but that's not enough reason to say that the elderly ones are the victim Ponzi scams. If we check very well, we will find out that the desire of getting rich overnight by this younger generation is much and this is the most causes of falling for a Ponzi scams. I can say now our days, it is the young ones that are falling for Ponzi scams while the elderly ones get scared of taken risk.

[casey15]

I've actually experienced something similar first hand. The scammers messaged me that they had a jumia job for me that pays 2-3k naira daily... I played along and pretended not to know that it's a scam. They actually paid the first 3k for the first task. Then they stared asking for investment money that's when I exited the group the created...
Not everyone will be lucky or is knowledgeable enough to know that it's a scam. We have to educate the elderly to not respond to such messages at all even if it seems to have come from a close friend or relative..

[Brizi5000]

Honestly this issue of falling for scam schemes have been going on in Nigeria for years now, and despite previous failures the people still don’t want to learn from what happened to others. I’ve been able to have an interaction with few people who are victims of this sort of Ponzi scam and i find out that Most people only want quick money, they don’t want to work hard and sweat for their daily living.

Sometimes what causes many people to join this Ponzi schemes In Nigeria is as a result of desperation and frustrations. With the level of unemployment rate in the country most people both old and young will forget to think twice before they jump into such scam schemes because they feel that’s their last opportunity to start making money and earn a living for themselves.

 Many of this old folks who probably might have lost their jobs are now desperate to secure a source of livelihood after sudden job lost and most of them have saved some money while they’re still working and are contemplating on what to do with the money so it will yield extra money to enable them keep the family going and when they see such schemes they will want to use the money they saved while they were still at work to put in such an investment to be able to start making a living out of it without knowing it’s a scam.