Government begins crackdown on social media Pseudo accounts

The investigators discovered that the fraudsters who have created numerous Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts have stolen hundreds of thousands of Kenyan Shillings from gullible citizens.

The perpetrators of the scam are tricked into thinking that the account holders will help them obtain jobs, financial support, and other favours.

In one such case, a 19-year-old suspect named Michael Wekesa was detained in Sirisia after creating a Facebook account pretending to work for the First Lady's office.

In a clever plan, the culprit demanded a little deposit as "facilitation fees" to speed up the procedure after promising interest-free loans from the renowned First Lady's Office.

Unaware Kenyans deposited money to a Mpesa account provided by the scammers, which was then transferred to a till number under the suspect's identity.

They only realized they were the latest victims of online fraud by tech-savvy youngsters taking advantage of trusting Kenyans after their calls got no response later.

Isaac Ouduor, 19, a co-conspirator in the shady scheme, was also detained. Ouduor ran centre center" that took calls from potential victims before escalating them to the "loans officer" for action.

The suspect had three mobile phones taken from him that were utilized in the transactions.

Later, the detectives detained Dennis Kimaru, a 25-year-old Kirinyaga University alumnus with a bachelor's degree in commerce who runs the Mzalendo Kimaru (jeshii), Mzalendo Kym Korir, and Obuntu Family Facebook pages.

The suspect created a social media account in the name of Col. Fabian Lengusuranga, aide-de-camp to the Head of State, who also has profiles with similar names on Twitter and Instagram.

Kenyans were warned by the investigations agency to be cautious of such social media profiles and to refrain from sending money to anyone to influence their behaviour.

The public is warned not to be misled by material posted from other unsubstantiated fake accounts, as the Office of the First Lady only uses a verified Facebook account.