A Bungoma-based social media user is counting his losses after a deal to buy an X account with more than 100,000 followers collapsed into what he now believes was an outright scam, leaving him out Ksh 60,000 and with an account he never received.

The victim, Samwel Wekesa, narrated his ordeal in a lengthy thread that has since drawn commentary from Cyprian Nyakundi. According to his account, he approached a fellow X user last Friday about buying the account, which had an initial asking price of Ksh 80,000. After some negotiation, the two settled on Ksh 60,000 upfront, with the remaining Ksh 10,000 balance to be paid a month later — an arrangement Wekesa says he agreed to because he trusted the seller.

An M-Pesa confirmation message reviewed as part of this story shows Ksh 60,000 was sent on September 11, 2026 at 6:50 PM, matching the timeline Wekesa describes. Trouble began almost immediately after: rather than handing over the account's login credentials as agreed, the seller said he was travelling home by matatu and would send the details on arrival. Once home, he asked for two more hours, saying he needed to delete "sensitive DMs" from the account first.

That two-hour window came and went with no logins delivered. Wekesa says his attempts to reach the seller went unanswered for the rest of the day. The following morning, Saturday, the seller resurfaced with a new excuse he had been drinking the night before and needed another two hours to clear the sensitive messages. That window, too, passed without any credentials being handed over.

By around 11 a.m. that Saturday, and after mounting pressure from Wekesa, the seller reportedly offered to simply refund the Ksh 60,000 instead of completing the sale. Wekesa agreed to a refund only for the seller to change course again, claiming he had already spent the money but was expecting funds from someone else by 3 p.m. that would allow him to settle up. That 3 p.m. deadline passed with the seller no longer picking up calls.

After a full day of unanswered pressure, Wekesa says he tried a different approach the next morning: he told the seller the Ksh 60,000 actually belonged to his brother, who had taken him to a police station because he suspected he was being played.

He even placed a video call to the seller from inside the police station. The seller promised to send the money by 10 a.m. and when that hour arrived, shifted the story once more, this time claiming he would send the account logins instead. Since then, Wekesa says he has heard nothing further despite repeated calls and texts. He has since recorded an Occurrence Book (OB) entry at a police station in Bungoma, though he says he is uncertain whether it will lead anywhere given that the seller is based in Nairobi while he is in Bungoma.

Wacha niseme Initoke buana. Kuna bigwig huku I feel ameniosha ile proper. My hard earned Ksh 60,000 imezama hivo. There's this friend of mine huku X whom I approached on Friday aniuzie his small X account. Not so small ju iko above 100K followers. Alitaka 80K. Bargained to 70K but agreed to pay 60K, then balance ya 10K nilipe after one month. Ju I trust him, Mimi nikatuma hio 60K Mpesa na nikangoja kupewa logins. My very good friend akasema ako kwa Matatu anaenda home na akifika he will send logins. Kufika kwa nyumba tena akarequest for 2 hrs to delete the sensitive DMS. The two hours zikaisha. Tried to reach him nikaona he is not replying. Nikalenga tu hadi next day which is Saturday. Hio Sato akanipigia akasema ooh Rafiki Jana nililewa so wewe fanya hivi, just give me two hours sahi Sahi nidelete hizo DMS coz ni sensitive sana. From around 8am nikangoja hadi past 10am. Nikajua hapa bila pressure Mimi sitapewa logins na pesa nilituma already. Kitu 11 am hapo akasema ju nampea pressure, it's better anirefund my 60K. Nikamwambia arudishe. Shockingly akachange tune akasema pesa ametumia already but kuna msee anamtumia pesa by 3PM then anisort immediately. Hio 3 pm ikafika jamaa hashiki simu. Pressured him the whole of yesterday but hakutuma dooh. So today morning I decided to come up with a plan anilipe pesa yangu. Told him hio pesa is for my bro na amenipeleka police station ju niliona Mimi ananiletea jokes. Even video called him nikiwa kwa police station. Jamaa akasema nawapea pesa by 10am. Hio 10am ikafika tena akashift narrative to "natuma logins" Sahi... Buana from hio time I've not heard from him. I've called and texted hadi nimechoka. Mimi Niko Bungoma and my good friend ako Nairobi. Nimechukua OB hapa Bungoma but I'm not sure kama nitasaidika. Hii TL ogopa buana. Mtu anakuosha, anaendelea Kupiga sherehe na hakuna kitu utafanya. Chesa.

Reacting to the thread, Nyakundioffered pointed advice for anyone looking to buy social media accounts in future. His core message: treat such purchases like a barter trade, where both parties are present and the exchange happens simultaneously, rather than sending payment first and trusting the seller to follow through.

He stressed that the X account password itself is not the most important credential — buyers should first secure control of the email address linked to the account, including the ability to change its password and recovery settings.

Only after confirming control of that email, he advised, should a buyer change the X account's password and security settings, and complete payment. Deals conducted purely over the phone, where money changes hands before control of the account does, leave buyers exposed to exactly the kind of runaround Wekesa says he experienced.

Kijana, let me warn you today because KSh 60,000 is too much money to lose over something that could have been avoided with one simple rule. When buying an X account, treat the transaction like barter trade because the seller should be sitting on the other side while the account and money change hands almost simultaneously. The most important thing is not even the X password because you first need control of the email attached to that account, including the ability to change the email password and recovery details yourself. Once you have confirmed that you control the email, you change its password and recovery information, then immediately change the X password and security details before completing the payment. Never ever buy an account over the phone where you send money first and somebody tells you, “Niko kwa matatu,” “Ngoja nifike home,” “Nadelete DMs,” or “Nipee two hours.” The moment KSh 60,000 leaves your M-Pesa while the other person still controls everything, you are no longer buying an account, you are trusting somebody with KSh 60,000. For that amount of money, meet physically, verify everything while sitting together, transfer control there and then, and only complete payment once you have confirmed that the account and its controlling email are actually under your control.- Nyakundi said

The case adds to a growing list of social media account sale disputes that have surfaced online in Kenya, as the trade in large-following accounts often bought for business, marketing, or influence purposes continues largely outside any formal escrow or verification system, leaving buyers to rely entirely on the good faith of sellers they frequently know only through direct messages.