Suspected SIM-swap fraudster arrested over fake SHA registration scam

• According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the suspect was targeting members of the public, particularly the elderly, under the guise of conducting SHA registration.

A suspected SIM-swap fraudster has been arrested following a joint, intelligence-led operation by detectives targeting a scam in which suspects posed as officials conducting Social Health Authority (SHA) registration.

According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the suspect was targeting members of the public, particularly the elderly, under the guise of conducting SHA registration.

The operation followed intelligence indicating that a woman and two men had been moving around Mwea, Machakos, Kitui, Mwingi and other areas, posing as government employees carrying out SHA registration and targeting unsuspecting members of the public.

Investigators say the suspects would exploit the registration exercise to obtain victims' personal details, use them to swap their SIM cards, and gain access to their mobile money and other digital wallets, from where they transferred funds to their own accounts.