A Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student is among those arrested by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) in connection with a SIM card swap scam that is taking root in the country.
In a tweet on Friday, the DCI said the student, who is currently studying Electronic Engineering at the varsity was arrested alongside a Safaricom employee.
The DCI also revealed that they recovered crucial items from the two suspects including three Mpesa Safaricom books and 2,160 unused sim cards.
Unsuspecting Kenyans have been falling prey to the fraudsters who sometimes pose as Safaricom employees and trick their targets into giving them their personal identification information.They then use the information they gather to swap the SIM card, which enables them to gain access to your mobile money transfer account as well as your mobile banking services.
Earlier this week, an MCA from Kiambu County shocked Kenyans when he revealed he had lost Sh1.9 million to the fraudsters.
To tame the vice, Safaricom in a statement has urged its subscribers not to share their personal details with anyone.
"As a precautionary measure against social engineering, enabled by sharing of personal details, we would also like to remind our customers to safeguard information such as SIM and M-Pesa PINs, date of birth and national ID numbers," said Nicholas Mulia, Safaricom’s risk management director.