NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 28 – The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) has raised the alarm over a spike in fraudulent schemes exploiting its name, with scammers falsely offering jobs and procurement contracts—many of them linked to the anticipated reloction of more UN staff to Kenya.Zainab Bangura, the UN Under-Secretary-General and Director-General of UNON, said scammers are increasingly targeting unsuspecting Kenyans on social media, through messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram, and even in person. In most cases, fraudsters demand money in exchange for fake UN employment or contract opportunities.Bangura admitted the rise in scams has posed “a very challenging” problem for the global organization.“I would like to alert the public that the UN is aware of fraudulent activities using the UN logo and the name of UNON to target people,” she said.“These scams [are being] fueled by talk of the UN moving more operations to Nairobi, and they [are] mainly spread through verbal promises and social media, including WhatsApp and Telegram, falsely offering UN jobs or procurement deals.”She revealed that some victims have even shown up at the UNON headquarters in Gigiri with forged letters, believing they had secured jobs or tenders. Investigations later revealed they had paid large sums of money to con artists.“Because of the high unemployment rate, some individuals are taking advantage by saying: ‘Give me 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 shillings and I’ll make sure you get a UN job when operations move to Nairobi.’ This [is] a scam,” Bangura stressed.Official platforms She emphasized that the UN conducts all recruitment and procurement processes exclusively through official UN platforms and that the UN never charges fees at any stage.“If somebody asks you for money to secure a UN contract or job, it is not possible,” she warned.Peter Marshall, the UN’s Principal Security Adviser for Kenya and Eritrea with the Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), confirmed the fraud is spreading. He said UNDSS had documented at least a dozen cases in the past three months, with new incidents surfacing almost every week.“We’ve had about five or six cases in the past month alone. Almost every week we receive one or two new reports,” Marshall said, linking the trend to the anticipated relocation of UN staff to Nairobi.Beyong the fake jobs offers, scammers are targeting business people with a recent victim in Kiambu duped with a promise of a catering contract.“If it involves paying money, it is a scam. The UN does not charge for recruitment or procurement—there is no cost at all,” Marshall emphasized.To combat the schemes, UNON and UNDSS said they are working closely with Kenyan authorities, including the Diplomatic Police Unit and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), to track down the perpetrators.The UN urged Kenyans to remain vigilant, verify any job or contract opportunities through official UN websites, and report suspected scams to the police or DCI.