The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) is warning Kenyans of a new scam targeting the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) passengers seeking ticket refunds or cancellation.
In a statement seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the KRC cautioned the public against con artists posing as its employees and offering passengers support services at a fee.
The fraudsters reach out to unsuspecting victims through social media posts, calls and text messages. They then ask for confidential details from their victims to facilitate the recovery of the passengers' money.
"We are aware of phone calls, text messages and social media posts from third parties posing as Kenya Railways staff, whose intention is to defraud our passengers," read the statement released on Monday, April 11.
Kenya Railways management added that the fraudsters would go as far as asking for bank account details and personal identification numbers (PINs) from their targets. The Corporation has cautioned its customers not to be forthcoming with their information, adding that they did not ask for such details.
"Kenya Railways would never ask for your bank details or personal identification numbers to your mobile money or social media accounts, in order to facilitate cancellations and refunds for already purchased tickets.
"Please note that the phone numbers 0202460005 and 0202470005 in use by the fraudsters, do not belong to Kenya Railways," the press statement read.
The move by passengers to look for back-door means to recover money from ticket cancellations could be attributed to the high ticket cancellation fees. Kenya Railways charges passengers 30 per cent of the ticket price for forfeited travel.
An economy class ticket on the Nairobi-Mombasa route costs Ksh1,000 while a first-class ticket goes for Ksh3,000. This means those cancelling trips will part with between Ksh300 and Ksh900.
On the other hand, passengers who would like to reschedule their journey will have to part with 10 per cent of the ticket price.
The warning comes amid a government directive for mobile phone users to register their lines in a bid to curb incidences of impersonation and cyber crimes.
