Mobile Money Fraud Tops Kenya's Cybercrime Cases in 2026

Kenya is witnessing a surge in cybercrime, with mobile money fraud emerging as the leading form of computer fraud in the first half of 2026. Data presented at the 36th National Computer and Cybercrimes Coordination Committee (NC4) meeting revealed that 51 out of 102 reported fraud cases between February and July involved mobile money.

Fraud Trends and Payment Channels

• Mobile money fraud: 19 cases (18.6%), the single largest fraud category.
• Bank transfers: Involved in 22 cases (21.6%).
• Cryptocurrency-related fraud: 12 cases (11.8%).
• Investment and forex scams: 16 cases (15.7%).
• Account takeover and impersonation: 10 cases (9.8%).
• Online shopping fraud: 9 cases (8.8%).
• Fake websites and phishing: 8 cases (7.8%).
• Brand and government impersonation: 7 cases (6.9%).
• Advance fee scams: 6 cases (5.9%).
• Job and recruitment scams: 4 cases (3.9%).
• SIM swap fraud: 3 cases (2.9%).

Additionally, 23 cases (22.5%) had telecom or SIM-related elements.

Rising Cases and Response

Reported cybercrime cases increased sharply after May, with 70 of the 102 cases recorded between May and July. July alone accounted for 27 cases, the highest monthly tally. In response, NC4 plans to enhance monitoring of high-risk mobile money transactions and improve collaboration with telecom providers to expedite evidence preservation.

Focus will also be placed on cracking down on investment, forex, and cryptocurrency scams, combating fake websites and impersonation, and standardizing fraud data classification.

Public Advisory and Broader Cybersecurity Threats

Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo urged the public to exercise caution when using digital financial services. Recommendations include never sharing PINs, passwords, or one-time passwords, enabling multifactor authentication, and reporting suspicious activity promptly.

Kenya’s Computer Incident Response Team reported 2.3 billion cyber events during the period, marking a 30% decline from the previous quarter due to improved security collaboration. However, threats such as ransomware, social engineering, malware, denial-of-service, and AI-assisted attacks persist.

The ICT Authority also reported a government website defacement following exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability, with investigations ongoing. Meanwhile, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission highlighted risks of ethnic tensions fueled by AI-generated content and coordinated online disinformation campaigns.

These findings align with Interpol’s 2025 cybercrime report, which ranked Kenya as East Africa’s top country for cybercrime and among Africa’s top five.