Safaricom employee, two others arrested over SIM swap fraud

Suspect 1, Joseph Kuria Kariuki who has been arrested over the SIM swap fraud. [NPS]

Detectives from Central Police Station, Nairobi have arrested three more suspects linked to the spiraling sim swapping scam amid ongoing investigations.

The three who include Joseph Kuria Kariuki, Grace Wanjira and Meshack Okoth Okuta were arrested on Tuesday, in connection to a scam that saw a Kiambu MCA lose Sh1.9 million.

Suspect 2, Grace Wanjira nabbed by detectives over the loss of Sh1.9 million by a Kiambu MCA. [NPS]

Official communication from the National Police Service via twitter said that one of the key suspects is a Safaricom Customer Care Executive but who has since been dismissed.

 

...suspects one of them an employee with a local bank where the complainant had banked his money. We appeal to members of the public to refrain from giving personal data to unknown individuals or responding to strange calls or messages asking for the same. 3/3

— National Police Service-Kenya (@NPSOfficial_KE) July 24, 2018

Police also say that they are making inroads into the sim swap fraud since it was brought to light.

“Detectives are closing in on leads that may lead to the arrest two more suspects one of them an employee with a local bank where the complainant had banked his money.”

They are however appealing to Kenyans to refrain from sharing personal information with unknown individuals or responding to strange calls or messages.

Suspect 3, Meshack Okoth Okuta arrested in connection with the recent spate of Sim Swapping cases targeting unsuspecting members of the public. [NPS]

On Friday last week, detectives arrested two people in connection to fraud cases involving SIM cards.

The suspects, Safaricom employee Maurice Musoti and a Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) engineering student, Rian Obaga Nyagaka were found to be in possession of 2,160 unused Safaricom SIM cards, 44 used cards, five till agent numbers, three MPESA Safaricom booklets and an internet booster router.

 A laptop, two mobile phones; a blackberry and Samsung J7 were also netted in the swop.