A Kenyan trader on Friday, April 7, cautioned her peers and other business operators against falling prey to a new mobile money payments scam
In a video that has since gone viral, the trader explains how fraudsters used a fake message-generating mobile application to con unsuspecting traders whose businesses accept mobile money payments.
The fake messaging app was used by fraudsters to imitate mobile money transaction messages with features similar to genuine mobile money messages.
The app is manipulated to create real-time transactions, codes, business names and balances of transactions that appear genuine.
With the fake messages, the conmen, mostly in teams of threes, approach shops where mobile money payment is allowed and order expensive products.
Later, they claim to have already made the payment and are ready to show receipt of a confirmation message. To hasten the process, they claim to be in a hurry in an attempt to have the seller give them the goods before checking the payment confirmation messages on their end.
In the video, the lady noted that the fraudsters work in groups of three people, who use tricks and threats to intimidate traders to fall into their traps.
"The first man came in, he wanted 4 whisky bottles of 1 litre each but different brands. Another man joined him two minutes later as I was packing the liquor for the customer. After 1 minute, another man entered, and they all made inquiries about available wines of different quantities," she explained.
The first customer showed her the fake payment message with her real business name but she had not received a message on her end for the same transaction. The client, who was in haste, tried convincing her that message will be delivered to her later due to system delay.
The second client ordered 3 different wines of 5 litres each and offered to pay via his mobile phone.
Growing impatient, the first client demanded to be served first on the basis of the confirmation message sent to his phone but the lady maintained her hardline insisting on waiting for the transaction message delivered on her phone before releasing the goods to them.
"I don't know you, I have never seen you and you want me to give you goods worth Ksh18,000 without receiving the confirmation message, never," she told them.
During the push and pull, the trader resorted to calling the police to intervene, a move that forced the three men, who were impeccably dressed, to leave together and board one vehicle. They entered the shop pretending to be three different clients.
"Be very careful, I could have lost goods worth Ksh18,000 to the scammers but I thank God I was not conned," she advised the public.
