May 31, 2022, marked a turning point in the fight against SIM swapping scams in Kenya. Safaricom, a leading mobile service provider, introduced a self-whitelisting service to help its customers protect themselves from these scams.
For those unfamiliar, SIM swapping is a type of identity theft where scammers use a stolen mobile number to take over a victim's financial accounts. They do this by registering the existing mobile number on a new SIM card, claiming to be the original owner who has misplaced their SIM card.
Once the scammers have obtained the new SIM card, they intercept all passwords and notifications, including mobile banking apps and transactions. By the time the victim realizes what's happening, their accounts are often empty, and some victims have even suffered further financial losses after the scammers borrowed to the maximum limit from lending apps.
However, Safaricom's self-whitelisting service offers a solution. By dialing 100100# from their Safaricom number, customers can lock their own number, preventing SIM swapping without their permission. This service ensures that a customer's line/SIM card can only be replaced by visiting a Safaricom Shop or Care desk with their ID or by calling Safaricom customer care.
According to Hannington Oduor, a security system analyst, SIM-swap is a form of identity theft, also known as impersonation. Scammers use mind games to gain the victim's trust, often by reading out their entire ID number and asking them to confirm it's correct.
Victims of SIM swapping scams have been instructed to dial various USSD codes, such as 330000, #253257#, or ##72786#, which initiate the swap process. However, with Safaricom's self-whitelisting service, customers can now protect themselves from these scams.
