After receiving numerous complaints from members of the public who fell victim to conmen operating in the city, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations revealed new ways con artists in Nairobi use to prey on their victims.

In a Tuesday, May 11 statement, DCI exposed a well organized syndicate consisting of young men and women, who pose as sales agents of a renown mobile telecommunication company.

“The conmen operate from the attached vehicle behind Kenya Archives, along Tom Mboya Street, and pose as genuine marketers of unreasonably cheap smart phones, iPads, tablets and other flashy electronic products. They also purport to assist clients, in upgrading their sim cards to 5G network.”

“Once they have the full attention of an unsuspecting would be buyer, they access the victim’s mobile money transfer pin and other mobile banking details, after which they transfer money from the victims’ accounts to unknown accounts,” part of the statement by DCI read.

However, the DCI pointed out that after detectives and general duty Police officers arrest the fraudsters upon receiving complaints from victims, they (victims) hardly show up at the Police stations or DCI offices to file formal reports, thus weakening the evidential aspect upon arraignment of the suspects.

“As such, we appeal to members of the public who may have been hoodwinked by the fraudsters to report at DCI Headquarters’ Serious Crime Unit, to formally report their experiences with the syndicate for necessary Police action to be initiated,” the DCI said, encouraging members of the public to report such cases to the appropriate authorities.

“We thank the members of public who continue to share intelligence information through our DCI hotline 0800 722 203. This is a toll-free number where calls are made confidentially, with the caller remaining anonymous in that neither their names nor phone numbers are displayed,” the statement concluded.