How man lost Sh540,000 from his bank account in SIM swap fraud

The DCI has warned members of the public against a new trick used by fraudsters to wire money from bank accounts of unsuspecting victims.

Citing an incident in Eldoret where a man lost Sh540,000, the DCI revealed that a group of three (two men and a lady) met the victim at a hotel and asked him to send Sh2000 via mobile money transfer.

Oblivious of what the three had up their sleeves, the man sent the money and was given a similar amount in cash.

The three left shortly afterwards and it was until the next morning that the victim realized that Sh540,000 was missing from his bank account.

How it happened

According to the DCI, the fraudsters mastered the victim’s PIN as he made the transactions before swapping his line.

Sh400,000 was then transferred to various phone numbers while Sh140,000 was sent to the account of one Harun Kigera.

The suspect (Kigera) was arrested earlier this week in Molo, Nakuru County and the DCI has warned against the new trick.

“The DCI takes this opportunity to warn Members of the Public against this kind of Fraud where people are being duped into online transactions in exchange for cash money, & thereby innocently revealing their PIN & Phone Numbers which enable the fraudsters to swap their lines before cleaning up all their bank, Mpesa, Mshwari & Airtel Money savings.

“Be Warned & Stay Safe,” read the statement.