Investigators have revealed alarming details of a hacking incident on the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) database that has exposed Kenyan drivers to fraudsters.
A gang of 10 fraudsters managed to hack the NTSA system and has been using information on car log books to swindle insurers out of millions of shillings.
In 2012, the transport authority took over the registration of vehicles from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and migrated the platform to an online database.
Confirming the developments, NTSA Director General Francis Meja blamed the breach on a weak online system.
"We inherited a weak system from KRA but that is changing after we migrated services online with a robust system," Mr Meja explained.
The conmen secured a payout from a local insurer for a Nissan March car that previously belonged to a woman who had already been paid Sh500,000 after an accident.
They used details of the Nissan March car to generate a fake logbook for a non-existent Toyota Land Cruiser V8 using the online NTSA database.
Colluding with a top insurance broker and vehicle inspection firm, the gang proceeded to craftily insure the Land Cruiser V8 for Sh5.5 Million.
"To finally execute their plan, they report the car has been stolen and file a claim. They go for this strategy rather than an accident because they have no exhibit to present for assessment.
"They go for theft because it requires one to only produce a logbook as proof of ownership," the investigators' report read in part.
The scheme involving the V8 did not pan out as the Insurance Fraud Investigation Unit flagged the culprits when they presented a theft claim to a certified insurer.
"Armed with this new logbook, complete with a valuation report from (name withheld), the fraudsters took a new policy for this phantom car.
"Upon scrutiny, we realised that this car registration details had earlier been used for another claim," the investigators revealed.
Mr Meja has conveyed that the authority was working to improve the system even as investigations and prosecution of the 10 proceeds.
