A Kisumu man has been left stranded after fraudsters reportedly cleared his bank account of Sh229, 894.
George Omondi, a cattle dealer, says that the money was stolen from his Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) account, through four successful withdrawals through M-Pesa.
He says that the fraudsters struck on June 18, only a day after they attempted to send him codes, purporting to be bank staff.
He says that he had made deposits on June 15 and 17, shortly after opening an account at the KCB Kisumu West Branch.
"They kept on asking me questions. They sent several codes to my phone. I was busy in the market so I didn't respond," he told the Standard on Sunday.
With bank records showing that the money was withdrawn through a phone number; 0710924109, he says that bank officials have not been of any help.
He says that led by the branch manager, they have maintained that they cannot help in recovering the money, with attmeogs to get police intervention also proving futile.
"They asked me to write a complaint letter which I did. But the branch manager told me investigations can take up to 8 months. I then went and reported the matter to the police, which too, were unwilling to help me," says Omondi.
The victim now says that the turn of events has struck him badly.
He adds that he did not cooperate with the said fraudsters and did not send them the codes they sent on his phone as they directed him to.