Magnus Adebayo (not real name), an Oyo State-based businessman, has narrated how he and other unsuspecting Nigerians became victims of a fraud perpetrated by Brad E-commerce Ltd., a platform that once claimed to be a “global provider of marketing solutions”.

Adebayo told FIJ that earlier this year, he learnt of Brad as an online public relations and recruitment company that helped people make money from their smartphones.

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“In the beginning, other participants and I were told to register with sums ranging between N5,000 and N50 million before we could become members on the platform,” Adebayo said.

“After that, we were asked to comment and like videos posted on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and so on. The higher the amount you paid, the more the tasks you were given.

“For example, if you paid N5,000, Brad would give you five tasks in a day. Then they would pay you N75 on each of your completed tasks.

“The payments would continue to accumulate for about a week, then they would now pay you what you had earned.

“At the end of six months, participants were expected to get their registration fees back. To add to that, it was promised that the N75 payment would continue for a year.

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“But all of a sudden, Brad stopped paying us in September. As we speak, the platform is no longer accessible.

“Now, I started with N23,000. I know of participants who started with as much as N1 million. If I am not mistaking, participants all over Nigeria were more than 10 thousand. While not trying to exaggerate, we are looking at a billion-naira fraud. Our money is gone.”

Another participant, who asked not to be named, told FIJ that he paid N500,000 while registering on the platform.

“Just like any other Ponzi scheme, they paid me proceeds for all the tasks I did in August,” the participant said.

“Brad just suddenly pulled the carpet from under our feet in September. Now, the platform is no longer accessible. We initially heard that they were having temporary payment issues. But now, it is clear that we have been defrauded. They have defrauded thousands of Nigerians of billions of naira.

“I know I may never get my money back, but the public needs to know that Brad is a fraudulent platform, so that they don’t also become victims.”

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FIJ found that Brad E-commerce Ltd. was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as a ‘textile manufacturing company’ in 2019.

Presently, its status on the CAC website is “inactive”.

The person or persons who have significant control over the establishment could not also be determined, as no shareholder names could be seen on the site.

Also, Brad E-commerce Ltd. does not have a known physical address.

FIJ called the phone number on the company’s Facebook page several times, but it was not reachable. A text message sent to the phone number had also not been responded to at press time.