The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Wednesday, January 7, issued a warning alert to Kenyans trading in cryptocurrency.
According to the Directorate, there have been increased cases of Kenyans losing their money to fraudsters pretending to trade in cryptocurrency.
"We are currently investigating several such cases where investors who fell for the scam are crying foul," a statement from DCI read in part.
Detectives revealed that an increased number of Kenyans were being scammed by fraudsters who were sending “Make Money Sitting At Home” short messages (SMS).
According to DCI, the SMS targeted a huge populace of people with Kenyans subsequently asked to join online investment platforms through anonymous links.
The links are alluring with promises of high margins of profits with unsuspecting victims falling for the lies.
With this, DCI has issued a caution to Kenyans and any other person to beware of this scam advising them to venture into different ventures.
"Verify the authenticity of any online investment platforms with Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) respectively before investing your hard-earned money.," DCI warned.
Additionally, DCI has asked Kenyans to report any information of anyone using different approaches while posing as online investors.
"Should you have information on anyone using this approach to scam investors, please contact us through the DCI toll-free hotline 0800722203," Kenyans were advised.
This comes at a time when the country is working on drafting a Bill to regulate the crypto market.
On January 22, the Blockchain Association of Kenya (BAK), a digital asset policy lobby, drafted the country’s first-ever Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP) bill meant to regulate the digital asset market in Kenya.
The draft is expected to be tabled before the Parliament on February 14.
