Social Media Trader’s Luxury Purchase Raises Red Flags Among Financial Experts
Kelvin Osita, who goes by @kelvin_talent on Instagram, recently made waves across Nigerian social media with claims of purchasing a Mercedes-Benz worth ₦340 million (approximately $210,000 at current exchange rates). According to multiple sources, the self-described “7 Figures Funded Trader” allegedly enlisted influencers to amplify this achievement, positioning it as the fruit of his forex trading prowess.
According to Caleb On X Formally Twitter, he stated ” How do u buy Benz 340 million naira from forex and you are allegedly paying influencers to announce it to the world…“
Screenshoot Below,
Here’s the problem: the story doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
Instagram and other social media platforms are rife with self-proclaimed forex experts who show off flashy lifestyles, luxury cars, and exotic holidays, claiming these successes result from their trading prowess. The pattern is so predictable it’s become a template: display wealth, credit it to forex trading, then monetize the attention through courses, signal services, or recruitment schemes.
What raises immediate suspicion in Osita’s case isn’t just the car purchase itself. It’s the alleged decision to pay influencers to broadcast the news. When someone genuinely makes money through legitimate trading, they typically don’t need to hire a promotional team to announce their success. The achievement speaks for itself.
Let’s break down what earning ₦340 million through forex trading actually means. To accumulate that kind of wealth purely from trading profits, you’d need either:
- An initial capital investment of at least ₦100-200 million
- Multiple years of consistent, exceptional returns (20-30% annually)
- Or extremely risky leveraged positions that few professional traders would recommend
Most Instagram forex traders who display extravagant wealth are more focused on making money from their followers than genuinely helping them achieve success in trading. The real revenue often comes from selling courses, signal subscriptions, or recruiting members into pyramid-structured schemes.
What “Funded Trader” Actually Means
Osita describes himself as a “7 Figures Funded Trader” on his profile. This term refers to proprietary trading firms that provide capital to traders who pass evaluation challenges. While legitimate prop trading exists, here’s what most people don’t understand:
- Most funded traders keep 70-80% of profits, not 100%
- Monthly profit targets are typically 5-10%, not the astronomical returns needed for ₦340 million purchases
- Funded accounts have strict drawdown limits that make massive wealth accumulation through a single funded account nearly impossible
- The evaluation fees themselves have become the primary business model for many prop firms
To earn enough for a ₦340 million car through prop trading alone, you’d need multiple large funded accounts, consistent monthly profits for years, and near-perfect risk management. It’s possible, but rare enough that legitimate traders with such success are typically recruited by major financial institutions, not promoting themselves on Instagram.
The Real Business Model
Many influencers promoting forex success are actually operating multi-level marketing schemes disguised as trading platforms. Rather than focusing on actual trading, participants recruit new members and earn commission for every new person who joins.
The economics make sense from a scammer’s perspective:
- Sell a ₦50,000 forex course to 1,000 people = ₦50 million
- Charge ₦20,000/month for trading signals to 500 subscribers = ₦10 million monthly
- Take a cut from prop firm affiliate commissions = Additional income stream
Within months, you’ve generated the capital to purchase luxury items. The car becomes a prop in the next sales pitch: “Look what forex trading bought me you can do it too!”
According to a survey by global forex platform OctaFX, 82.4% of people dealing in forex trading have been exposed to one or more types of forex scams, with 41.9% getting scammed due to expectations of easy money.
Financial experts identify several red flags in social media forex promotions:
Lifestyle Marketing: Real traders post charts, analysis, and trade breakdowns. Scammers post cars, cash, and luxury watches.
Guaranteed Returns: Legitimate trading involves risk. Anyone promising consistent profits is selling a dream, not a strategy.
Recruitment Focus: If the business model depends on you bringing in new members, it’s not trading, it’s a pyramid scheme.
Paid Promotion: Instagram influencer scams typically involve flaunting flashy lifestyles to lure victims into fraudulent schemes. Hiring influencers to announce your success isn’t standard trader behavior.
Vague Credentials: Claims like “7 figures funded trader” sound impressive but are impossible to verify without seeing actual brokerage statements, which legitimate successful traders can provide.
Investment scams in Nigeria have evolved in 2025, with fraudsters now using AI-powered trading bots, celebrity impersonations, and fake dollar investment platforms promising 15-25% monthly returns. The forex trading angle remains popular because it combines technical jargon that sounds legitimate with the allure of global markets.
The Central Bank of Nigeria and financial regulators have repeatedly warned Nigerians about unauthorized forex schemes, but the scams persist because they tap into genuine economic anxiety. When youth unemployment is high and traditional career paths seem blocked, the promise of financial freedom through forex trading becomes irresistible.
What This Means for Kelvin Osita
To be clear: We cannot definitively prove that Osita’s wealth didn’t come from forex trading. Perhaps he’s the rare exception a truly gifted trader who beat the odds. But the circumstances the inflated price tag, the influencer marketing campaign, the lack of transparent trading records fit the pattern of countless forex scams that have preceded it.
If Osita wants to prove his legitimacy, the path is straightforward: publish verified brokerage statements showing the trading profits, demonstrate the funded trading accounts, and explain the strategy that generated such exceptional returns. Real traders with real results don’t hide behind flashy Instagram posts and influencer promotions.
When someone needs to hire promoters to tell you they’re successful, ask yourself: what are they really selling?