DCI umasks suspected Mulot Sim swap ringleader

Detectives have revealed identity of a suspected ringleader behind Mulot Sim swap syndicate. [Standard,file]

The identity of a man believed to be the brains behind the SIM swap fraud cases has been revealed.

The identity of the man was shared on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Twitter handle on Wednesday, December 28.

The suspect, who also has an alias name, is said to be behind the Mulot SIM swap syndicate according to the DCI Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau.

"[The suspect] is a dangerous criminal who has previously served time in prison and has several cases and warrants of arrests hanging around his neck," said DCI in a statement.

His arrest followed a comprehensive investigation by detectives based at the elite Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau.

"The detectives unravelled the identity of the de facto leader of the criminal enterprise, responsible for SIM swap scam in which phone scammers hijack a victim's cell phone number and use it to gain access to sensitive personal data and bank accounts through the mobile banking applications available on mobile phones," added DCI.

In a recent case leading to the arrest of two of his accomplices, the scammers had siphoned Sh941,000 from a bank account belonging to a legislator in the Rift Valley region.

At the time, the legislator was out of the country on official duties between December 2 and December 3, 2022.

The suspect's accomplice, who works as a boda boda operator, has since been arrested by police in Mulot trading centre after he posted wads of cash on social media and bragged about his new-found loot.

A third suspect was arrested in Sigor trading centre in Chepalungu constituency where he was allegedly hiding.

According to the DCI, the suspects have been registering multiple SIM cards using details from fraudulently acquired identification documents and later deposit the siphoned money to different mobile money accounts.

"In most instances, the fraudsters working in cahoots with rogue banking officials pose as customer care agents from banks then ask for a customer's account number, PIN, as well as details of the last transaction on the targeted account. They then use the details to duplicate the victims' account and after a successful SIM swap, the account is swept clean in a matter of seconds," DCI said.

Local financial institutions are the most targeted by the syndicate owing to "their inferior network segmentation systems that expose their clients' sensitive data to the fraudsters in case of cyber threats."

As a precautionary measure, the DCI cautioned Kenyans not to reveal their national identity card name and number, the last time they made a transaction on mobile money accounts and the amount made.

The DCI has also warned against revealing the last airtime top-up, the amount and the sim card pin numbers to strangers who contact them.

"You are also advised not to use your year of birth as your Personal Identification Number," DCI said.