Kenya is the leading country in Africa with the most cases of Mobile Fraud. According to research firm, Evina, Kenya faces at least 51 percent of suspicious mobile based fraud, followed by South Africa at 30 percent and 10 percent in Cameroon.
“After Kenya, South Africa is the African country most affected by fraud that daily fleeces millions from the mobile accounts of cellular users.” Evina said through a post on its website.
“Africa’s youthful population that is mostly unbanked and using some 900 million mobile money accounts is particularly hard-hit by professional cybercriminals from around the world, who together cost Africa some $4 billion every year,” said David Lotfi, CEO of Evina.
Read: Prison Warder Arrested With Over 10K Sim Cards In Suspected Fraud Syndicate
The fraudsters have managed to penetrate the systems, creating a negative impact on the sustainability of digital advertising and mobile based payment.
In Kenya, there have been many cases where fraudsters impersonate mobile service agents and lure unsuspecting subscribers through phone calls. The subscriber will be guided through a process they realize later is a sim swap which gives the fraudster access to their mobile money wallets.
Electronic money has also been hit with a number of users losing money in their bank accounts mysteriously. Some users even get alerts when money is withdrawn despite them not initiating the process.
Read also: MTN, Airtel and Stanbic Bank Uganda Lose Billions to Hackers
Another commonly hit process is Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) which allows users to pay for bills and items using their card information directly on their phone. Fraudsters are now intercepting the process by maliciously redirecting a customer to a website where sensitive financial information is stolen.
Fraudsters are overworking especially during this period when Black Friday deals are splashed out in multiple websites.
“Fraud is a feasible obstacle to overcome and there really is no excuse for the fact. Fraudsters who continue – in 2020 – to steal Africa’s wealth can be beaten with the right tools that we already use to protect millions of mobile transactions every day,” adds Lotfi.
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