LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- Ghanaian actress Nadia Buari has warned fans to be vigilant online after discovering that multiple versions of her name had already been claimed on WhatsApp shortly after the messaging platform introduced its new username feature.
The warning comes just days after WhatsApp introduced usernames, a feature designed to let users connect without sharing their phone numbers.
While many welcomed the privacy update, Buari said her experience exposed how quickly fraudsters can exploit new digital tools.
Taking to Instagram, the actress revealed that every variation of her name she attempted to register had already been taken.
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“At this point, it’s clear fraudsters and imposters are lurking everywhere, ready to snatch up anything just to mislead people. Please, be careful out there and stay vigilant—because if they’re this quick with usernames, imagine what else they’re up to,” she wrote.
According to Buari, usernames including “Nadia Buari,” “Nadia S Buari,” “NSB,” and even “theNadiaBuari” were all unavailable when she tried to create an account.
The actress described the experience as both frustrating and worrying, saying it highlights how fast impersonators move to claim identities that could later be used to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.
“Why are people like this???… I was trying to create this WhatsApp username thing, only to realize every single variation of my name is already gone. Every. Single. One. Nadia Buari…Taken. Nadia S Buari…Taken. NSB….Taken. Even theNadiaBuari—like, seriously?! It’s exhausting and honestly kind of scary,” the actress stated.
