Be warned! Thugs are using this new trick. A friend lost her handbag and mobile phone this morning

At this day and age when everyone is desperately looking for a job, it’s very easy for anyone for fall for any scheme created by crafty con men and thugs; especially when they promise to give you a well paying job and all the good things that come with it

This morning, I got this message through whatsapp. It was sent using my friend’s phone number:

Hallo ma dear just wanted to brief u that ma bro nlaw is recruitn ladiez n gentlemen for Regional airlinez. vacanciez are in customer care, nurses, and salary is very gud frm ksh42,000 na hse allowance is ksh30,000. Cal ma bro nlaw nw anaitwa George Oreje tel . He is very honest n trustworthy then remember kuna medic reg of ksh9,500 bt refundable on friday cal him nw then sms me am in a meetn at jkia embakasi ave bin employd as a customer care ma dear. Margaret Wangari.

The victim’s name is Margaret Wangari (my friend) . The message above came from her phone. When I tried calling her, she texted me claiming that she can’t talk because she is in a meeting. She also asked me to send the Sh 9,500 asap since only 2 positions were remaining.

I tried calling her several other times but every time, I got the number busy tone. I then decided to call her boyfriend so that I can ask him if he knew what was happening. That’s when I got the shocking news.. She had left home early in the morning to attend an interview. The people who were recruiting her (the ones who sent me the message above) picked her in town so as to attend the fake interview at JKIA. They later dumped her along old airport road after stealing everything from her. She walked all the way to Taj Mall where she called her boyfriend to go pick her up

So, they were sending the above text message to all the contacts in her phone, trying to find a soft target who would fall for their trick like my friend did.

When I earlier tried to call my friend in vain, I called a Safaricom customer care rep. to try and trace where maggie was but she told me there was no way she could help. She said that those matters are usually handled by their anti fraud department, and I should first call the police (you all know how that goes)

And it seems like very many con men are out in the loose; yesterday, another friend posted this message on her facebook wall- but these ones were targeting her m-pesa account.

I think it good to share this number – 0702600026

At around 9.30am I received 10 shillings in my mpesa account from a number 0718…. n by the name Moffat. I had not checked my messages.  10minutes later I got a call from the above number (0702600026) n the person introduced himself as a Francis from Safaricom customer care.  He told me that my simcard had been double registered n he would wish to clarify some information from me. So he asked my names which I think he got from the 10 bob mpesa transaction – I had to choose mine from two names that he gave me. He then asked whether I had done any Simcard replacement since I bought my line I told him no.

He then told me to confirm my I.D number n this time he wanted me to tell him n my id being secret n hard to give out, I told him that I will visit a  safaricom customer care center and clarify all my details coz I was not comfortable giving my details through the phone. He then told me they will switch my phone for the next 72hours n no communication will go through coz I was not cooperating. I told him to go on and I had no problem if he switched it off. He said goodbye and hung up… That’s when I saw the mpesa SMS n saw the 10 Bob transaction from Moffat. I suspect that the caller was a fraudster who was colluding with Safaricom employees so steal my M-Pesa cash. Btw, they din’t switch off my phone like they had threatened

So be warned. These things can happen to anyone. Never give your personal details to a stranger over the phone. Also, if you receive a text message from someone promising you a great job with a good salary, do some due diligence. Post it on your facebook wall and ask for opinins from your friends. You can also post it on a group like Buyer Beware. Stop that “I wont tell anyone so that I become successful alone” attitude

Update

Two of Margaret’s friends who received the message that was sent using her phone fell for the trap. One of them sustained serious injuries and lost Sh 20,000 and other belongings. The other one lost Sh 9,500 and other personal items