This story is not new. There was MMM, MBA Forex, Chinmark and now, there’s the CBEX saga.
What Happened?
The digital asset trading platform CBEX (operating via Telegram groups with no other official social media presence) gave Nigerians a mouthwatering offer promising 100% returns in 30 days and extensive referral rewards, thanks to “AI-driven” trading magic. The dashboard looked slick. Withdrawals worked, until they didn’t.
On April 11th, users started reporting withdrawal difficulties on social media. By April 14th, the platform completely crashed, with users’ account balances wiped out, causing financial losses exceeding an estimated N2.4 billion (yes, that’s billion with a b). The Telegram groups were locked, and to add insult to injury – or in this case, scam on top of scam – they charged a “verification fee” of $200 for a $2,000 lifeline and $100 for a $1,000 lifeline.
Why does this happen so often, and so easily?
It’s easy to blame greed, but it’s actually more complex than that. We know what the economy is currently like, and the poverty and unemployment statistics are heartbreaking. So when presented with the hope of a huge payout to change their circumstances, it’s not unexpected that Nigerians would grab at it with both hands.
Because these schemes seem legit in the beginning, with the first set of “investors” often racing to social media platforms to co-sign them and share their “it worked for me” stories, there’s also peer pressure. Add to that our “double your hustle”, “no risk, no reward” culture, as well as the “don’t let any opportunity pass you by” mantra that has been ingrained in us for generations, and you’d see exactly why people choose to pack everything that glitters in hopes that at least some of it would be gold.
And yes, the earlier-mentioned greed is a huge thing. People are out here throwing away their discernment skills in the face of obvious red flags for a chance at “awoof” money. Many others have greed plus the special Nigerian flavour of arrogance, where they KNOW it’s risky but they think they’re “smart” enough to get in & out before it crashes. When you combine this with a lack of education and financial literacy, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.
How can you protect yourself?
Look out for the signs. These schemes all tend to follow the same playbook. If there’s no verifiable registration with regulatory bodies like the SEC or CAC or no clear explanation of how the money is made, run. If they require new people to join before you can withdraw your money, run fast. Once you see impossibly high returns (like 100% in 30 days), running isn’t enough. Vanish.
What’s next?
Apparently, some users are still holding out hope for a “phase 2” of CBEX, where they’ll get their money and the profits they were promised. Spoiler alert: there’s no phase 2. It’s delulu at its finest. There’s a lot of social media furore right now and maybe there’ll even be a court case, but one thing’s for sure: there’s going to be another Ponzi scheme soon. More people will fall for it. And we’ll tell this story again.
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