DCI’s detectives launch manhunt for fugitive Mulot sim-swap syndicate mastermind
The Cybercrime detectives attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have launched a countrywide manhunt for a profiled mastermind of sim-swapping syndicate blamed for fraud and a series of money siphoning schemes from their preys’ bank and MPesa accounts.
David Mutai alias Hillary Langat Matindwet from Mulot in Bomet County has been described as “a dangerous criminal” and an ex-convict with multiple pending cases in court and several warrants of arrest in force.
Two of his accomplices, Justus Rono and Kevin Kiplagat have since been arrested.
The Cybercrime sleuths are jointly working with their counterparts from the elite Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB).
“…the de facto leader of the criminal enterprise, responsible for sim swap scam in which phone scammers hijack a victim’s cell phone number and use it to gain access to sensitive personal data and bank accounts through the mobile banking applications available on mobile phones.” DCI Amin Mohamed through an updated said.
According to detectives, an unnamed Member of Parliament (MP) is said to be the latest victim from whose bank account he and his gang siphoned Sh941,000 between December 2 and 3 this year when the legislator had traveled out of the country.
“Following the incident reported by the legislator, one of Mutai’s lieutenants Justus Rono aged 28 was tracked down by detectives and arrested in the fraudsters paradise of Mulot, a dusty town shared between Bomet and Narok counties.” An update on DCI’s official Twitter handle reads in part.
Rono is said to disguises himself as a boda boda rider is said to be main suspect’s trusted allies, who ferries him on his bike discreetly to avoid detection from officers.
The second accomplice has been identified as Kevin Kiplagat was apprehended at Sigor Market in Bomet county.
The trio are also said to be impersonating senior government officials.
Kiplagat is said to have recently obtained an unspecified amount of money from unsuspecting members of the public after posing as a senior state official who would influence employment and business opportunities at a fee.
The suspects are said have registered multiple sim cards using details from fraudulently acquired identification documents, deposit the siphoned money to different Mpesa accounts, in a bid to make it difficult for detectives for track them down.
“In most instances, the fraudsters working in cahoots with rogue banking officials pose as customer care agents from banks then ask for a customer’s account number, PIN, as well as details of the last transaction on the targeted account. They then use the details to duplicate the victims’ account and after a successful SIM swap, the account is swept clean in a matter of seconds.” The DCI added.
Local financial institutions are said to be the easy targets due to their inferior network segmentation systems that expose their clients’ sensitive data to the fraudsters in case of cyber threats.
“As a precautionary measure, Kenyans are requested not to reveal their national identity card name and number, the last time they made an MPesa transaction and the amount, the last airtime top-up and amount and the Personal Identification Number of their sim cards to strangers who contact them.” The DCI added.
