The police have uncovered a suspected SIM-swap fraud scheme in which individuals allegedly posed as government officials conducting Social Health Authority (SHA) registration to obtain personal details from members of the public.
In a statement by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), a woman and two men had been moving around Mwea, Machakos, Kitui, Mwingi, and other areas while posing as SHA registration officials.
The suspects allegedly targeted members of the public, particularly the elderly, and collected their personal information during the registration exercise.
The information was allegedly used to carry out SIM swaps, giving the suspects access to victimsβ mobile money accounts and other digital wallets.
The funds were subsequently transferred to accounts allegedly controlled by the fraudsters, according to investigators.
Acting on intelligence, detectives from Kilifi South and Nyali mounted an operation in the Kwa Chief area of Mtwapa, where they arrested one of the suspected fraudsters.
The suspect’s alleged accomplice managed to escape during the operation and remains at large as detectives continue efforts to trace him.
