Communications Authority on Tuesday morning issued an alert over increased fraudulent activities carried out online.
In a post on its Twitter page, the institution confirmed that numerous fraudsters posing as online retail providers are on the rise and determined to con Kenyans off their hard earned cash,
They also cited mobile applications selling goods and services as another platform to watch out for.
In the press release, the Authority highlighted five signs hinting at whether an online establishment is fraudulent or not.
If the platform lacks a physical address or contacts and lists no helpline, then chances are that it is not genuine, highlighted the tweet.
It further added that shoppers should look out for suspicious contacts on the websites or impersonation of other established brands.
See below a list of signs of a fake website;
- Unavailable registered physical contacts
- Unavailable customer care helplines
- Suspicious telephone numbers/websites/social media pages most of which are impersonations
- Impersonations of websites, mobile applications for Institutions such as banks, Insurance, Government Agencies among others.
- Use of Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc to perpetuate fraud schemes.
The Authority further asked the public to always be cautionary and below is how to protect yourself;
- Verify the authenticity of online trading platforms through family, friends and organizations before engaging with them.
- Desist from sending money to mobile numbers belonging to individuals posing as representatives of such online stores.
- Always avoid installing internet applications with questionable source.
- Carry out checks on respective online stores and mobile applications by reading the online reviews or other third party comments on the stores and applications.
- Avoid disclosing personal details such as bank account details, ATM PIN, username and passwords.
- Report such fraudulent websites and mobile applications to the helplines of known genuine online stores.
- Report cases of online fraud to the police or the National KE-CIRT/CC.
You can contact the National KE-CIRT/CC thro' email address: incidents@ke-cirt.go.ke or dedicated hotlines 0703-042-700/0703-272-700 to report an incident or seek advice on cyber security matters. @MoICTKenya @mucheru @fhersy @DCI_Kenya @PoliceKE.#BewareOnlineFraud pic.twitter.com/SVUSEqwGUT
In a series of tweets, they also advised members of the public to report any fraud activity to Police or to National Kenya Computer Incident Response Team Coordination Centre (KE-CIRT/CC).
