Half of all reported computer fraud cases in Kenya between February and July 2026 involved mobile money, either as the way criminals collected payment or as the destination for stolen funds.
That number comes from an analysis presented at the 36th meeting of the National Computer and Cybercrimes Coordination Committee (NC4), chaired by Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo.
Out of 102 reported cases, 51 involved mobile money in some form. On its own, mobile money fraud was the single largest fraud scheme, making up 19 cases, or 18.6% of the total.
Where the Money Goes
After mobile money, bank transfers were the next most common payment channel, linked to 22 cases, or 21.6%. Cryptocurrency came next, tied to 12 cases, or 11.8%.
Investment and foreign exchange schemes were the second biggest fraud category, with 16 cases, or 15.7%. Cryptocurrency scams followed with 12 cases, or 11.8%.
Account takeover and impersonation made up 10 cases, at 9.8%. Online shopping fraud accounted for nine cases, or 8.8%. Fake websites and phishing came in at eight cases, 7.8%, as scammers built cloned sites to steal personal details.
Brand and government impersonation made up seven cases, 6.9%. Advance fee scams, where victims pay upfront for a benefit that never arrives, accounted for six cases, 5.9%. Job and recruitment scams made up four cases, 3.9%, and SIM swap fraud accounted for three cases, 2.9%.
Separately, 23 cases, or 22.5%, had a clear telecom or SIM-related element.
| Fraud Scheme | Cases | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile money fraud | 19 | 18.6% |
| Investment and forex schemes | 16 | 15.7% |
| Cryptocurrency scams | 12 | 11.8% |
| Account takeover and impersonation | 10 | 9.8% |
| Online shopping fraud | 9 | 8.8% |
| Fake websites and phishing | 8 | 7.8% |
| Brand and government impersonation | 7 | 6.9% |
| Advance fee scams | 6 | 5.9% |
| Job and recruitment scams | 4 | 3.9% |
| SIM swap fraud | 3 | 2.9% |
Cases Continue to Increase
Reports picked up sharply after May. Of the 102 cases logged over the full six months, 70 of them, or 68.6%, came between May and July. July alone had the most cases of any month, at 27.
Off the back of these numbers, the NC4 said it will tighten monitoring of high-risk mobile money transactions and set up faster channels to preserve and escalate evidence with telecom providers.
It also plans to focus intelligence work on investment, forex and crypto schemes, move quicker against fake websites and impersonation accounts, and standardize how fraud data gets classified.
READ: DCI Arrests 14 Over Fake Bus Ticket Website Scam in Nakuru
Omollo said fraud complaints will be investigated and offenders prosecuted under the law. The committee is asking the public to be careful with digital financial services and to think twice before responding to investment, crypto, shopping or job offers online.
People should never share PINs, passwords or one-time passwords, should turn on multifactor authentication where it’s available, and should report suspicious numbers, accounts, websites and transactions to their service provider, regulators or the police.
| Channel | Cases | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile money (any involvement) | 51 | 50.0% |
| Bank transfers | 22 | 21.6% |
| Cryptocurrency | 12 | 11.8% |
| Telecom/SIM-related element | 23 | 22.5% |
The same meeting covered wider threats. Kenya’s Computer Incident Response Team (National KE-CIRT/CC) reported 2.3 billion cyber events during the period, a 30% drop from the previous quarter, which officials credited to better collaboration and follow-through on security advisories.
Ransomware, social engineering, malware, denial-of-service attacks and AI-assisted attacks were flagged as the main threats still in play.
The ICT Authority also told the committee that a government website was defaced after attackers exploited a zero-day flaw in its content management system. Digital forensic investigators are still working the case.
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission raised a separate concern: ethnically charged content and coordinated online campaigns, pushed further by AI-generated media, fake accounts and bots, could widen social divisions and erode public trust.
The committee said the speed at which this content spreads across platforms makes it harder to monitor, and stressed it wants to protect legitimate political speech while doing so.
This report lines up with Interpol’s 2025 cybercrime report, which ranked Kenya first in East Africa for cybercrime cases and placed it among the top five countries on the continent, behind Nigeria and South Africa.
