Nadia Buari Sounds Alarm as WhatsApp Username Grab Sparks Impersonation Fears

Nadia Buari Sounds Alarm as WhatsApp Username Grab Sparks Impersonation Fears

Nadia Buari is warning fans. 3 July 2026. The Ghanaian actress says strangers are grabbing WhatsApp usernames linked to celebrities, opening the door for scams and impersonation. Her post: “If you see @nadiabuari on WhatsApp asking for money, it’s not me. Please report.”

The scare started after WhatsApp rolled out usernames globally this week. Instead of phone numbers, users can now set a public @handle. Within hours, @nadiabuari, @sarkodie, @stonebwoy, and @jackieappiah were claimed. Not by the celebs. By random users.

Nadia posted screenshots on IG. One fake @nadiabuari account was messaging fans: “Hey love, I need 2,000 cedis for my NGO. Send to this MoMo.” Another used her profile pic and bio. “This is dangerous,” she wrote. “People will lose money thinking it’s me.”

Why this matters: WhatsApp has 3.2 billion users. In Ghana, it’s the #1 app. Market women, students, and aunties trust WhatsApp more than Instagram. If a “Nadia Buari” messages them, they’ll believe it. Scammers know this. The username rush is digital land-grabbing.

Nadia isn’t alone. Jackie Appiah posted “I don’t have a WhatsApp username yet. Don’t fall for it.” Lydia Forson tweeted: “Meta needs to verify celebs FAST or people will get duped.” Even Sarkodie weighed in: “This is why we can’t have nice things.”

The problem: WhatsApp usernames have no verification as of 3 July 2026. No blue tick. First come, first served. Meta said verification for public figures “is coming” but gave no date. That gap is where scammers live. In 2024, fake MoMo accounts used celeb names. Now they have @handles to look legit.

Nadia’s solution: She’s asking Meta Ghana to reserve handles for verified public figures. She also told fans: “I will NEVER DM you for money on WhatsApp. My only real number is private. If I need help, I’ll post publicly.” She pinned the post to her IG.

The bigger picture: This is the new face of celebrity impersonation. Facebook had fake pages. IG had fake accounts. Now WhatsApp has fake @handles sliding into DMs. For Ghana’s digital economy, it’s a crisis. Mobile money fraud already costs Ghanaians ₵200M yearly. Fake celeb usernames will spike that.

Nadia Buari just became the first major Ghanaian celeb to sound the alarm. She’s protecting her brand and her fans. Meta needs to act before someone’s grandmother sends her rent money to @fakesarkodie.

If you see a celeb @handle on WhatsApp, don’t send money. Screenshot, report, and check their verified IG first. Bigxmotion will track Meta’s response and list the real vs fake handles as they appear.