Police probe abduction of two suspects linked to cybercrime

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations have launched investigations into the mysterious disappearance of two suspects linked to cybercrime.

Police said Kiplangat Maritim alias Elvis Chepkosa and Dominic Kipng'eno Lang'at alias Hillary Muge aged 34 and 28 respectively have been missing since December 5.

The two are allegedly leaders of a notorious gang that engages in cyber scams including SIM swapping, credit card fraud and armed robberies.

Chepalungu sub-county police boss Panton Analo said his office is working closely with the relatives of the missing duo to help trace them.

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Analo revealed that Chepkosa and Muge were travelling from Nairobi to Bomet in the company of a woman before they went missing.

“Chepkosa and Dominic are said to have disappeared on December 5, 2024, at Mutarakwa area along the Mai Mahiu-Narok Highway after a Toyota Prado they were in was shot at the tyres and the occupants abducted by masked individuals and bundled into a waiting vehicle,” he said.

Preliminary investigations show that the said Prado was in October 2022, 2024 intercepted while ferrying sandalwood worth Sh2 million at Maili Saba along the Nakuru –Nyahururu highway.

“We are working closely with the relatives of the missing persons to help trace them. For now, we are still pursuing possible leads into the incident,” Analo said.

A source privy to the investigations told The Standard that Chepkosa and Muge might have been abducted by their own associates in a deal gone sour.

The investigator suspected that the two might have obtained huge amounts of money from their scam deals and refused to share the proceeds.

“There is even a likelihood they may have opted to scheme for their own disappearance to lead their associates to believe that they were targeted by law enforcement agencies,” said an official aware of the probe.

In February 2024, Chepkosa and his associates were arrested for robbery with violence. The case is ongoing at Kericho Law Courts.

Police said criminals involved in cybercrime exploit weaknesses in mobile networks to conduct SIM swaps enabling them to access victims' online financial platforms which include mobile money and bank accounts where they withdraw funds using money transfer platforms such as Neteller and Skrill and transfer the funds to their bank and mobile money accounts.

The suspects also launder money by converting it into cryptocurrency and hiding it in Crypto wallet accounts before they transfer it to third parties who in turn withdraw the money and deliver it to them in cash at a small commission.  

According to police, Chepkosa and Muge have recruited hundreds of youths from Bomet county who have specialised in social engineering (Phishing) which they use to extract personal identifiable information from their victims and later use to Sim- Swap their phone numbers, thereafter withdraw money from their mobile wallets and bank accounts.

Although police have upped efforts to address the menace, cyber-related scams continue to thrive in the country as cybercriminals continue to steal millions of shillings from unsuspecting Kenyans.

The criminals are becoming emboldened to carry out more intricate scams after discovering more loopholes presented by the digital era.

Cybercrime experts are urging members of the public to be vigilant and take safety precautions to avoid losing their hard-earned monies to scammers.

These cybersecurity measures include putting in place two-factor authentication protocols and the use of strong passwords which cannot be easily cracked by criminals.

They also urge the public to avoid falling prey to scammers who use social engineering techniques to obtain credit card details which are used by the scammers to access bank accounts.

Further, members of the public are advised to keep their credit cards safe and avoid sharing their credit card details such as card number, expiry date and CVV since those are the details used by cyber criminals to access bank accounts.

Police also advise Kenyans to ensure the use of legitimate websites or apply for prepaid cards from banks which they can load whenever they need to make an online payment and immediately report loss of credit cards concerned institutions and have their accounts blocked to keep their money safe.

“They should also avoid clicking on random links that are sent by unknown individuals claiming to be from financial institutions or while on social media,” Analo said.