Nearly half of Kenyan mobile phone owners received an extortionist scam call or text message during the year ended last December, raising concerns over the growing sophistication and prevalence of mobile-based fraud across the country.
A global survey by the World Bank ranks Kenya as the second-most exposed country to mobile phone scams among 10 analysed sub-Saharan peers, only behind Tanzania, where 52.5 per cent of phone owners experienced the scam.
The report reveals that 49 per cent of local phone owners received at least one fraudulent call or text message last year, often prompting them to send money or divulge sensitive information.
Although the World Bank did not detail the exact nature of attempts, scams are often disguised as urgent financial requests, prize claims, mobile money reversals, or official government notices, all of which have become a persistent menace.
Around two per cent of phone owners within the country received a scam call or text and sent money to the scammer, while an additional 47 percent received the scam prompts but did not send money to fraudsters. About 51 per cent did not get a scam call or text message.
Other countries in the list include Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Lesotho, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia. The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is mandated to receive complaints of such fraudulent contacts from consumers, as part of its role in policing the country’s communications landscape.
In response to rising threat, some mobile operators have started implementing advanced fraud detection algorithms as well as tightening their Know Your Customer (KYC) processes to curb SIM card fraud.
In May this year, for instance, Airtel Kenya launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered spam detection system designed to flag and label all suspected messages as a measure to filter potentially scam texts.
The tool classifies suspicious messages as ‘Suspected SPAM’ without reading the specific text after analysing in real time over 250 parameters, including the sender’s usage patterns such as SMS frequency and geographical spread of targets.
The World Bank had called for tailored training programmes in digital literacy for vulnerable populations – particularly women and marginalised communities – noting that this could help build preventive capacity by teaching users to recognise warning signs and employ privacy-enhancing settings on their phones.
“Accessible, confidential reporting channels with transparent processes for handling cases can enable victims to seek help without stigma,” reads the report.
