There are no quick ways to make money online.
I know that is not what you want to hear. We live in a society where everybody wants instant results. Quick and fast ways to make money online, today.
And that hunger is exactly what online scams in Kenya feed on. You can make a lot of money by telling people you have a system they can use to make money online. I see it happen almost every single day.
So in this article I want to walk you through the scams I have seen, some of which I fell for myself, and then show you how money is actually made online.
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Why people think money online is easy
Many people believe you can take your smartphone, open a certain website, and $100 just lands in your account.
Who told you money is made that easily?
The $240 course I nearly paid for
Back in 2015, when I was first getting into the online space, ads kept popping up on Facebook and YouTube.
A man stands next to his car. “This is my vehicle. I work online. I make $1,000 every single day.”
And I thought, why not me? I want to make money online like that too.
So I clicked to see what he was offering. He would coach me. He would teach me “the process” and “the systems.” All for $240.
I watched people around me saving up to buy that so called system.
“But Elvis, don’t you sell courses?”
I know somebody in the comments is already typing this.
Yes, I sell courses. But look at what I teach. Practical skills you can test for yourself and use to do real work for real clients. Not a website you open and wait for money to appear.
Dropshipping and affiliate marketing are not shortcuts
Somebody is selling a website and telling you that if you sign up, do some dropshipping and affiliate marketing, you will make money.
Dropshipping and affiliate marketing are real business models. But they are businesses. They take skill, money for ads, testing and a lot of time. Anyone selling them to you as an easy shortcut is selling you a dream.
Public Likes: how we lost our money
When I was in university, a website came up called Public Likes.
All you had to do was open the site and do simple tasks. Identify that this picture is a fish. Things like that.
And for the first week or two, it paid. People were getting payouts of around 10,000 shillings a week. So many people signed up.
Then one day, people were told to upgrade their accounts. They upgraded.
Then they were told to verify their accounts. They started verifying.
During the verification stage, the website shut down. And everybody realised we had lost our money.
Another scheme, another 400,000 shillings gone
In 2024, another platform came up promising big weekly returns.
I know somebody who put 400,000 shillings into it. They lost it all.
We have had so many of these platforms, because so many people are chasing quick money online. And people forget a simple rule. In today’s world, you make money by selling a product or a service.
How the fake quiz website scam works
Let me show you how easy it is to run one of these.
You create a website. You tell people, “Sign up, pay a 1,000 shilling subscription, and we will pay you 5,000 shillings every week.”
You put up easy questions. What is the capital city of Kenya? People answer. They see 10 out of 10. Congratulations, your reward is 100,000 shillings.
But to withdraw the 100,000, you first need to pay a 5,000 shilling activation fee.
They pay. The money never comes.
The calls I get every day
I get calls like this almost every single day.
“Elvis, I saw this website online, and now they have refused to pay me my money.”
Stop looking for quick and easy ways to make money online.
Sell the shoe or shine the shoe
Here is how I sum it up.
You sell the shoe, or you shine the shoe.
You sell a product, or you sell a service. That is how money is made. Not by opening a website and doing strange tasks. You have to work for it, and that work is exactly what most people are trying to avoid.
Remote work is not easy money either
You see people online who say they work as virtual assistants. They are earning $2,000 or $4,000 a month, even “while they sleep.”
So you think it is quick and easy, until you realise what they invested to get to that level. The skills. The years. The clients they had to win one by one.
Money is not made that easily. People bleed and sweat for their money. Those looking for shortcuts end up crying expensive tears.
A simple blueprint to make money online
Here is a simple, realistic blueprint. Let me use a service as the example: building websites.
A website solves a problem for a business, so it has value. But before you can sell one, you need the skill.
Step 1: Learn the skill
Learn tools like WordPress and Lovable. Learn AI coding tools like Claude Code. Understand the basics of SEO, so the websites you build can be found on Google.
When you have learned the skill, you have the ability.
Step 2: Build a portfolio
Unfortunately, nobody pays you just because you have the ability. They need to see what you can do.
So take a simple project. Build a website, even a demo website for a business that does not exist yet. That becomes your portfolio.
Step 3: Get visible
Now put it in front of people.
List yourself on job platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. Post it on social media. It takes a few minutes to record a video that says, “Hi, look at this website I built. If you want one like it, reach out to me.”
Now you are visible. Somebody sees your content and thinks, “I could hire this person to build a website for my shoe shop.”
Step 4: Contract, deposit, deliver, referrals
They message you. You agree on the price, say 60,000 shillings.
You agree on terms. You write a contract and a scope of work. You send an invoice for a 50 or 60 percent deposit. They pay it, and you start the project.
When you deliver, you hold a virtual meeting to go over any changes. You make the changes. The client says, “I am happy with the work, thank you.” They leave you a review, and you ask them to refer anybody else who needs a website.
You have provided a service online, and you have been paid online. That is the whole theory. No shortcuts.
Pyramid schemes and multi level marketing
Then there are the pyramid schemes and the multi level marketing companies.
If you are in one, I am not here to trash talk you. But be realistic about how money is made. How do you make money by recruiting people?
The first question I always ask is, what product are you selling?
You will find these invitations in WhatsApp groups all the time. “Join this business.” They call it a business.
If they sell you a lifestyle first, walk away
When somebody shows you their lifestyle before they show you the product, treat it as a scam.
“This is my money. This is my Mercedes Benz. This is my suit. To get to my level, you need to pay me 40,000 shillings every month.”
Money is a product of value. When it all comes crashing down, you will realise you are the one who lost. The people at the top already made their money.
Do the math on the returns
Most people in a hurry to make money online do not do any research. Not even basic arithmetic.
Somebody tells you about an investment. Put in 25,000 shillings and you will get 15,000 shillings every month.
Do the math. That is 60 percent profit every month. Which bank in Kenya pays that? Which legitimate investment gives you that?
And then there is the other thinking. “I know it is a scam, so let me get in early, make my money, and get out.” That is how people lose the most.
How 160,000 shillings of Gulf savings disappeared
Here is a real case.
Somebody had been working in the Gulf for a long time and saved around 160,000 shillings. That is enough for a very good smartphone or laptop, or a start on something real.
They came back to Kenya, and a cousin told them about a “platform” that pays 30 percent a month.
They did their own math. Put in 150,000, get 45,000 a month. In about 3 months, I break even. After that, it is all profit.
Month 1, the money came. Month 2, the money came. Month 3, the platform disappeared.
What they did not realise is that the 45,000 they were receiving each month was their own money being handed back. From the 150,000, they got back 90,000. The other 60,000 was gone, along with every shilling they had expected to make.
Why online scams in Kenya make so much money
Social media makes all of this easier.
It would be very easy for me to turn on a camera and tell you, “I make 10 million shillings a day, join my platform.” Crypto scams are everywhere, including in Nairobi.
Scammers make a lot of money, for a while, because many people do not want to work, and because hope is powerful. People see a post, they become hopeful, and that hope makes them hand over their money.
Content creators have to take responsibility too
I will say this, and it includes me. Those of us creating content online are not doing enough to educate people about this.
In some cases we are part of the problem. It is too easy for somebody with a following to promote a “platform” that ends up costing people money every day.
Why these schemes target certain areas
Notice where many of these schemes recruit. Rarely in the wealthiest parts of Nairobi. More often in places where people have not had much chance to learn about investing, and where many are desperate for a way out.
So if you want to learn about wealth, ask people who have built real wealth what they did. Almost all of them will tell you the same thing.
Wealth is gradual. It is long term. You do not build it in 2 days, and you will not become a millionaire in 30 days.
Fake jobs abroad
It is not only investments. Be very careful with job offers abroad.
You see an advert on Facebook for a customer service job somewhere overseas. $1,500 a month. They will even pay for your air ticket.
Then you travel, and your passport is taken. You are forced to work for criminal gangs, scamming other people online. Many of these cases involve South East Asia, often with Thailand as the entry point. BBC and other media houses have done documentaries on it. People have been abused, fallen ill, and some have died.
Before you accept a job abroad, check that the recruitment agency is registered with the National Employment Authority, and research the company and the job independently. If something feels off, walk away.
Use AI to check if something is a scam
Here is something simple you can do today.
You do not need to do a lot of research. You do not even need to message me.
Somebody has sent you a long message about a fund or a platform that will make you money. Copy the exact message. Paste it into an AI tool like Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini, and ask it whether this looks legitimate or like a scam.
Within a few seconds, you will have an answer and the warning signs explained. You can do the same with screenshots.
Avoid anything with no real product or service
If somebody tells you that you can make 100,000 shillings a month and there is no real product or service behind it, avoid it.
Why I stand by my courses
I am not here to justify my classes and courses. I believe they are valuable.
If you learn social media management, you can do it for yourself and for other businesses. That is a real service people pay for. Some people in the comments will still call me a scammer. That is fine. I know the value of what I do.
I would rather earn 20,000 honestly
I would rather earn 20,000 shillings a month as a social media manager for a shop in Nairobi than chase a scheme that asks me to invest 250,000.
Too many people borrow from their parents, tell them it is for something serious, and then lose the money.
Learn, apply, prove, sell
Here is the last thing I will say about making money online.
Learn the skill. Apply the knowledge. Build the proof. Sell what you know how to do.
That is the hard work. You do not get paid just because you “invested.”
So be very careful with everything you see being sold online. Online scams in Kenya will keep changing names, but the pattern stays the same. Quick money, no product, and a lifestyle in the advert.
Start your digital skills journey on Click2Skill
— Elvis W.
