Fraudsters using Simcards of dead people to steal - FIA    

An investigation by Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) found that a large portion of mobile phone fraud was being executed through Simcards of dead people. 

Speaking at a mobile financial fraud discussion code-named Stop Bafere in Kampala at the weekend, Mr Kenneth Natukunda, the FIA operations specialist, said they had conducted a number of investigations on some of the Simcards used to defraud Ugandans, in which, they had found that many of them belonged to people who had died years ago. 

“Most of the numbers, when we follow through and investigate, these numbers belong to people who died three to four years ago. Somebody died but his or her number is still active,” he said, claiming that majority of these Simcards are fraudulently acquired at an average of Shs1m.

Monitor could not readily verify the claim and no details were provided on when the investigations were conducted. 

However, Mr Natukunda said that their investigations had also revealed that there was an organised group of mobile phone fraudsters, who, after fraudulently withdrawing money from their victim’s Simcards, is transferred to several other mobile phone numbers, which, when investigated majority belong to dead people.  

It was also found that many of the Simcards are not used for any communication – receive or make calls or send messages - but are kept active for purposes of receiving defrauded mobile money, which is withdrawn or transferred immediately to other phone numbers.

Government agencies, Mr Natukunda also noted, have found it difficult to crack mobile phone fraud given that most investigations hit dead ends.     

“At the end of the day, investigations will definitely hit a dead end. They will show that the initial owner is dead. You cannot tell who is using this number at the moment and that is one scenario where investigations go cold,” he said, noting that it had also been found that most of the Simcards used are registered under different names from those of the persons using them. 

FIA also found that in some cases fraudsters have committed crimes in Kampala using Simcards, which, when they are investigated, are located to a person in the countryside with no possibility of having been anywhere around the place from which the fraud was committed.

According to police, mobile phone related crimes and fraud have been growing, dominating complaints filed at Uganda Communications Commission annually. 

For instance, according police data, a total of 4,143 cases of mobile phone crimes and fraud were reported in 2021 compared to 4,043 in 2020, which represents a 2.4 percent increase. 

Mr Natukunda also said that investigations had found that fraudsters use lost identity cards to register multiple mobile phone numbers before such IDs are disposed of. 

Government agencies, among them Financial Intelligence Authority, Uganda Communications Commission and Bank of Uganda, together with telecoms and other stakeholders have, through different campaigns, intensified collaborations that seek to plug loopholes that fraudsters have taken advantage of to steal from unsuspecting victims.

During the discussions, Mr Stephen Wakhula, the MTN head of audit and forensics, said the biggest component of fraud thrives on social engineering through which feelings and empathy victims is manipulated  to surrender personal details. 

Stop Bafere campaign 

The Stop Bafere Campaign was founded by Pastor Martin Ssempa, who said that whereas digitisation has eased on how financial systems work, there has not been enough literacy to protect users.  

“There is still need to educate Ugandans. We believe that fighting fraud is something that cannot be done in isolation. It affects all of us who are in this mobile money ecosystem. We felt it is critical for us to come together,” he said, adding that it takes concerted efforts from providers, regulators and other key stakeholders to ensure that mobile phone fraud is stopped. 

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