Police in Garissa have arrested a man accused of targeting M-Pesa shop attendants by pretending to be a Safaricom agent and using the opportunity to access their phone lines and money.
The suspect, identified as Edwin Mugoi, was arrested by officers from Garissa Police Station shortly after an M-Pesa attendant in the Posta area of Bulla Hodhan reportedly lost money in a suspected fraud incident.
According to the information provided, Mugoi approached the attendant while posing as a Safaricom agent. He reportedly told the attendant that he was there to assist with upgrading the M-Pesa line.
The attendant is said to have trusted the man and allowed him to proceed with the process. However, instead of carrying out a genuine line upgrade, Mugoi allegedly swapped the phone line and used it to transfer money from the M-Pesa account to another account.
The incident prompted the attendant to seek help, leading to police intervention. Officers moved quickly and managed to trace and arrest Mugoi soon after the alleged fraud.
A search conducted during the arrest led to the recovery of several items that police believe may have been used in carrying out the suspected fraud. Among the items recovered were multiple SIM cards, four mobile phones, two SIM card registration gadgets and four phone chargers.
The recovery of the equipment has added to the police investigation as officers work to establish whether the suspect may have been involved in similar incidents targeting other M-Pesa shops in Garissa town and surrounding areas.
M-Pesa agents and attendants remain important targets for criminals because they handle mobile money transactions and often have access to large amounts of money through their business lines. Fraudsters can use different tricks to gain the trust of attendants before attempting to take control of their lines or access funds.
The arrest has therefore drawn attention to the need for M-Pesa attendants to carefully verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a Safaricom representative, especially when requesting access to SIM cards, phones or registration equipment.
Mugoi remains in police custody as officers complete the necessary processing ahead of his arraignment in court. Further details about the charges he will face are expected to emerge when he is presented before the court.
