Detectives arrest six suspects linked to fraud

Narok security team led by Narok County Commissioner Moffat Kangi (in red tie) inspecting some of the sim cards, ATMs,IDs and mobile phones used by mobile banking fraudsters (PHOTO:ROBERT KIPLAGAT)

NAROK, KENYA: Detectives in Narok have arrested six suspects linked to a multi-million shilling SIM card swapping and mobile bank fraud syndicate.

The security committee, led by County Commissioner Moffat Kangi and Police Commander Thomas Ngeiywa, said the six were linkedto cyber crimes in major towns across the county.

“Criminal investigators, the police, and cyber crime officers, acting on complaints by victims of the fraudsters, arrested six young men aged between 22 and 25 operating at Mulot in Narok West,” said Mr Kangi as he addressed journalists at Narok Police Station.

He said the fraudsters had extended their illegal activities to Meru, Kisii, Nairobi, Kitale, and Kisumu.

Hundreds of SIM and ATM cards and mobile phones used by the suspects were impounded during the operation.

“These people randomly send money as little as Sh5 to the targeted number and upon getting the name, they impersonate Safaricom or bank staff seeking personal bank/M-Pesa account details upon which they swap the SIM/ATM  card before emptying the account,” Kangi explained.

The security officials appealed to financial institutions to strengthen their applications to curb cyber crimes and report to police suspicious transactions in customers' accounts.