By HUDSON GUMBIHI
KENYA: Some crooked people have been obtaining money fraudulently from Kenyans under the guise of assisting victims of the Westgate attack, police have warned.
Inspector General David Kimaiyo said fraudsters were taking advantage of a bad situation to con members of the public.
The criminals were asking those willing to donate to do so through money transfer services. “The people who are running this scam are telling Kenyans and well-wishers that they are collecting funds to help people who are involved in the incident,” said Kimaiyo.
He urged the public to scrutinise requests before making donations, saying only Safaricom, through number 848484, and Airtel, through their paybill facility, had been authorised.
“I want to urge any institutions or bodies that wish to organise for support to follow proper channels and also notify authorities and Kenyans so that they are not taken advantage of,” said the police boss.
He also warned those raising false alarms and giving wrong information to security agents that they would face dire consequences.
“Giving false and misleading information is criminal and can result in serious consequences for the people perpetrating this,” cautioned Kimaiyo.
