The Directorate of
Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Wednesday warned Kenyans against criminal
taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to scam them.
DCI revealed that
the criminals are scamming Kenyans through phishing emails to sell non-existent
messages and offering free goodies.
The free goodies
include mobile data and airtime, especially now that people are required to
work from home to prevent the further spread of coronavirus.
“Members of the
public are hereby WARNED that criminals are using the Covid-19 pandemic to scam
them through circulation of phishing emails purporting to sell non-existent
items & messages that are accompanied by links that purport to offer free
goodies like data bundles, money, airtime among other things,” warned the DCI.
The DCI posted an
example of how Kenyans are being conned by the criminals by saying that the
government is giving out 200GB to all citizens.
According to DCI,
once you click the link, it’s easy for the criminals to access your personal
data, including passwords, photos, and other valuables that may be used to
extort and steal money.
“Such links have
largely been found to be infected with malware that triggers mining of personal
information, passwords, photos, contacts among other valuables that are subsequently
used to extort, for cyber bullying, stealing of finances among other ills,”
added the DCI.
Kenyans were also
warned against using free Wi-Fi and sharing their personal and financial
information online.
Since there’s a high
demand for things such as hand sanitizers and PPE masks due to the pandemic,
Kenyans were warned against purchasing substandard items using online services.
For those using door
delivery services, DCI warns that some of the people doing the delivery might
be criminals and might use sleep inducers to steal from Kenyans.
“For door step
deliveries, we warn that some may be done by criminals, who deliver products
that are treated with sleep inducers &/or drugs meant to stupefy, after
which victims may lose their valuables,” concluded the DCI.