If you’ve been to most urban centers, including Nairobi, you
might be well aware of the tricks conmen use to steal from unsuspecting
Kenyans. Conmen are getting smarter each day as they devise new tricks of
robbing you of your hard earned cash. Below are some of the most common tricks
Nairobi conmen use to steal from Kenyans.
1. Watch out for passengers reading newspapers in matatus
and spreading them to you or carrying large envelopes the size of x-ray
envelopes and covering your laps with it or your bag.
2. Be on the lookout for guys who drop coins in a matatu and
ask for your help to pick them up. While you do so your pockets or bag is being
emptied without your knowledg
3. You’re in a matatu and guys shout there is a crackdown
and everyone should fasten their safety belt. As you struggle to look for yours
you’re being robbed of your cash and other valuables.
4. As you walk the busy streets of Nairobi some guy in front
of you drops an envelope with cash and another quickly picks it up. Seeing that
you saw him, he convinces you to go and share with him. You go to a corridor or
a lonely street and then suddenly you find that you’re being robbed.
5. You meet a guy (s) in town pretending to be lost and asks
you where the Kenya Charity Sweepstake house is. Tells you he has won 100K and
even shows you a genuinely looking ticket. Then tells you unfortunately he
forgot his ID at home, and asks you to go collect the money for him then you
will share. But since it’s the first time you two have met, he asks you leave
him some security just to be sure you’ll not run away with his “100K”. You give
him your smartphone or some money only to later find out the ticket was fake
and you’ve lost your valuables.
6. An old or innocent-looking lady approaches you and
requests to use your phone to call someone to come pick her after arriving from
ocha. Being human, you help her, the call goes through but no one picks. She
thanks you and you get into a matatu. Her accomplices follow suit, and after a
short while one of them shouts that his phone has been stolen. They mention the
model and color, and dial the number. Your phone rings in your pocket, and
before you can explain and prove the phone is yours her accomplices are already
raining blows and kicks on you.
7. A guy stops you as you walk the busy streets of Nairobi,
and asks for directions to a popular church, media house, children’s home or
even Uhuru Park. Before you give him the directions, another guy (his
accomplice) passes by and pretends to know him from the good work he does as a
man of God. The “Man of God” then tells you of the problems you might be going
through and offer to pray for you. They take you to an isolated place for
“prayers” and you out your belongings aside. While the guy prays for you with
your eyes closed, his accomplices are disappearing with your valuables.
8. You receive a message claiming “Niaje bro, nitumie ile
pesa kwa hii namba 0720 xxxxxx, ile ingine iko na shida ya Mpesa”. You quickly
send the money and before you can reverse they have already withdrawn from an
agent and your case is closed.
9. You receive another message saying “Auntie or Uncle,
motto ameumwa na nyoka. Nitumie pesa ya boda boda nimpeleke hospitali.” These
are the guys from Kamiti.
10. You find guys playing cards by swapping them on a table.
One is thrown down and they request you to pick. They pretend you have won and
give you a reward of Ksh 200. You’re then told to play and win yourself more
money, and because you’re greedy for free money you agree. These guys will
swipe those cards like magicians, and all you can do is stand there helplessly
as you watch your money being stolen.
11. You receive a call from someone claiming to be from
Safaricom and is there to activate an Mpesa service for you that will enable
you to reverse money directly without having to call Safaricom in case you sent
it to a wrong number. He then tells you to go to your ATM withdrawal in your
MPESA Menu and key in 555555 or 286286 and you get an authorization code which
they tell you to read for them so that they can finish activating the service
for you. Then they warn you that your Mpesa PIN is your secret, and at no one
time should you share it with anyone not knowing that M-Pesa ATM withdrawals
only require an authorization code and your number for the transaction to be
successful, and that’s what you’ve given them.
12. Lastly, a beautiful lady approaches you says hi while
extending her hand to shake yours. The moment you shake their hands you get
confused, and you will do everything she asks you, including giving her your
phone and wallet. Most M-Pesa agents in Kiambu, Nairobi and Mombasa have at one
point been fleeced by such thieves.
13. Another trick conmen use to steal from Kenyans is
through M-Pesa messages. You receive a message showing that you’ve received Ksh
5000 from 07xxxxxxx. Then person then calls you requesting that you to please
send the money back after he/she sent to a wrong number. If you do so without
confirming the authenticity of the message, you’ll find yourself losing Ksh
5000 just like that.
