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SIM swap is one of the most common fraud schemes in which scammers fraudulently take over unsuspecting customer’s phone number and use it to defraud them through unauthorized mobile banking funds transfers.
Safaricom (NSE: SCOM) has today announced that it has signed up six banks to its SIM-Swap-Check Anti-fraud solution to help curb this menace that has seen customers lose millions.
The solution provides banks with an API (Application Programming Interface) through which they can query when a customer’s SIM card was last swapped.
The information then enables them to make a decision on the likelihood of a customer’s transaction being fraudulent and additional steps to be applied.
“The rapid growth of Kenya’s fintech sector has been accompanied by a rapidly evolving threat environment targeting both customers and fintech operators. It is, therefore, necessary for different players to partner around innovations that protect customers and their funds to safeguard the gains made,” said Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom CEO.
The SIM-Swap-Check solution provides banks with a free monthly quota of checks and a premium tier for additional checks above the free quota.
In addition to the SIM Swap Solution, Safaricom is also providing banks with an ATM Vicinity Check solution that ensures an ATM withdrawal can only be conducted if the transacting customer is in the same location as the ATM. The ATM Vicinity Check solution is offered at no cost.
Safaricom says the solution was developed following an analysis of fraud reports to tackle the social engineering of customers to conduct fraudulent SIM swaps.
