Kenya losing Sh40m monthly to new mobile phone fraud

The vice is costing the country over Sh400 million yearly though companies
are working hard to block it using new software. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

NAIROBI: Kenya could be losing about Sh40 million in month to SIM Box fraud, a fairly new form of crime where international calls are routed as local calls. Former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki recently told the African Union Summit that the fraud was prevalent, affecting both service providers and governments.

Locally, Safaricom told The Standard on Saturday that it has found the need to invest in new technology to curb the rising threat.  Safaricom Corporate Affairs Director Nzioka Waita, said the telco is now able to detect and disconnect the illegal calls in less than five minutes. “We detect SIM box usage within five minutes of it coming online and bar the connection immediately. We no longer lose revenues to SIM box fraudsters, and the poor quality connection era is gone,” said Mr Waita,