Despite a powerful counter-offensive by the company and the National Telecommunications Authority, phone scams are still the order of the day in Kenya.

Here are the warnings that the Kenyan telephone company Safaricom, the most widely used and therefore also the most susceptible to scamming its users, is issuing to prevent the spread of illegal activities.

• To confirm phone numbers registered in your name, dial *106#.
• To prevent your sim from being swapped without your presence, dial *100*100#.
• If someone attempts to register a new line using your ID, you will receive an SMS from 707 asking you to confirm the registration of a new line.
• Acknowledge Safaricom's official contacts. Safaricom only calls from 0722000000.
• Safaricom staff will never ask you to share your MPESA PIN, SIM codes or password. Do not disclose your personal information to anyone.
• Report the presence of impostors and suspicious links/websites/social media to Safaricom. Do not share your personal information with anyone on these platforms.
• Always protect your personal information such as ID number, date of birth, full name, address, etc.
• Do not follow or type in instructions from strangers. Safaricom customer support will never call you and then send you to the nearest agent for a cancellation.
• Do not disclose other information such as unique access codes to anyone. For example, the ATM withdrawal code, the authentication code for the Safaricom app or other services.
• A genuine M-PESA message is sent from M-PESA and not from the customer's line.
• Do not refund. Ask the caller to forward the message to the 456 or call Safaricom for assistance.
• When receiving fake messages, forward them to 333. This will ensure that the numbers are blocked and that there are no problems. This ensures that the numbers are blocked and that other customers are not scammed.
• Be wary of messages from unknown senders telling you that you have won or that they can give you money or help.
• Never send money to unlock prizes, loans, jobs, benefits, etc.
• Be wary of messages from people who call you and threaten you. Report threats to the police.
• Never send money to unknown persons.
• Be wary of offers or messages that are too tempting to be true. These are messages from scammers and are not genuine. Do not contact the sender/fruiter.
• Customers should also send a message to 333 with details of the line that contacted them. This ensures that the numbers are blocked and that other customers are not scammed.
  1. Below are Safaricom's verified social media accounts
     • https://www.facebook.com/SafaricomPLC
     • https://twitter.com/SafaricomPLC
     • https://www.instagram.com/safaricomplc_/