BBC journalist falls prey to banking fraud in Kenya

BBC journalist Ferdinand Omondi this week revealed how he almost lost money to banking fraudsters.

He took to social media to narrate an incident where hackers hit his two credit cards from different banks.

“So, hackers hit my two credit cards. From different banks… at the same time. And then my debit card was hit a few days later. Had the cards with me, never lost them. Someone tell me how this could happen.

“I am getting new cards, but now so paranoid I haven't renewed my Itunes or Netflix subscriptions, because I can't figure out what happened. Visa keeps saying the new cards are secure...,” he wrote.

Cases of banking fraud are on the rise in Kenya and last week the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) published names and faces of 130 suspected bank hackers.

The list included 100 men and 30 women who were accused of electronic fraud through hacking into banking systems.

In August 2018, the DCI highlighted several cases of fraud by bank employees, much to the surprise of many Kenyans.

Through a series of Twitter posts, the DCI revealed that 37 fictitious companies were registered with the Kenya Commercial Bank through fraudulent point of sale card transactions.

It also emerged that the funds were shared through M-Pesa among Benson Mwai Karugu, Edmund Kirturi Mutua, Evans Kenda Kiplagat & Macdonald Mochama Mongwe.

The suspects were arrested and charged for allegedly stealing Sh72,619,951.83 which was transferred from KCB in smaller amounts to accounts domiciled with various banks in Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret and Malindi.