Safaricom PLC sacks 33 employees over Mpesa and SIM swapping fraud.

 

Wednesday, July 12, 2023 – Safaricom PLC has sacked 33 employees over an increase in fraud cases inside the giant telco.

In its annual report, the Peter Ndegwa-led telco said it sacked 33 employees due to an increase in fraud using fake Mpesa numbers and SIM swapping.

SIM swap occurs when a criminal claims a false identity, pretends their Simcard is lost, and convinces a mobile operator to replace it.

That’s how criminals gain access to one’s contacts, banking details, emails, and social accounts.

Safaricom says it has established a whistle-blowing policy that enables anonymous fraud reporting on top of rolling out periodic customer awareness campaigns.

“Safaricom has a whistle-blowing policy that provides for an ethics hotline managed by an independent, accredited, and external institution.

Through the hotline, anonymous reports on unethical/fraudulent behaviour can be made without fear of retaliation from the suspected individuals,” reads the report.