Kenya’s largest telecommunications company, Safaricom, has dismissed 113 employees during its fiscal year ending in March 2024, marking the highest number of staff terminations due to fraud-related offenses in the company’s recent history. The figure represents a dramatic 242.4% increase from the 33 dismissals recorded in the previous year, highlighting escalating internal misconduct challenges within the mobile money giant.
Sharp Rise in Internal Fraud Cases
The dismissals, revealed in Safaricom’s 2024 Sustainability Report released in October, underscore the growing sophistication of fraud schemes targeting the company’s mobile money and SIM services. Of particular concern are SIM-swap fraud cases, where fraudsters deceive the telecom provider into transferring existing customers’ phone numbers to different SIM cards under their control, enabling them to intercept calls, messages, and security codes linked to mobile money or banking services.
Safaricom categorizes internal fraud into three main areas: policy breaches, identity theft, and asset misappropriation. Policy breaches include offenses such as bypassing company procedures, issuing unauthorized M-Pesa start keys, leaking confidential data, or accessing internal systems without permission. Identity theft covers SIM swaps, use of fake identification documents, and collusion between employees and external actors. Asset misappropriation refers to the misuse of company resources, including inflated overtime claims, cash handling discrepancies, and irregular redemption of Bonga loyalty points.
Enhanced Detection and Prevention Measures
In response to the rising internal threats, Safaricom has implemented comprehensive countermeasures throughout 2024. The company introduced automated detection systems specifically designed to flag high-risk SIM swaps and suspicious account access. These systems aim to restrict suspicious transactions and improve verification processes during SIM replacement or account recovery procedures.
The telecommunications giant has also expanded its whistleblowing policy to allow anonymous reporting of unethical or fraudulent behavior through an independent external institution. This initiative complements increased collaboration with law enforcement agencies, with Safaricom working directly with authorities to investigate fraud linked to its services and prosecute offenders.
Customer education has become a cornerstone of Safaricom’s anti-fraud strategy. The company has intensified awareness campaigns, staff training, and outreach programs targeting agents and suppliers to reduce fraud rooted in social engineering and other deceptive practices. These efforts are particularly crucial given that SIM-swap fraud often exploits personal identity information and security codes.
Sector-Wide Challenge in Kenya’s Financial Industry
Safaricom’s internal fraud challenges reflect broader issues affecting Kenya’s financial sector. KCB Group dismissed 34 employees in 2024 due to fraud and negligence, following internal investigations into operational misconduct. The bank successfully intercepted 339 fraud attempts in 2024, protecting over KSh212.9 million in customer funds, compared to 249 thwarted attempts in 2023.
More dramatically, Equity Group terminated over 1,200 staff members in 2024 following discoveries of sophisticated payroll and M-Pesa scams that resulted in losses exceeding KES 1.5 billion. The mass dismissals at Kenya’s second-largest bank by assets represent one of the most significant anti-fraud crackdowns by a Kenyan financial institution in recent history.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, fraud cases in the banking sector more than doubled in 2024, rising from 153 to 353 cases, with total losses nearly quadrupling to KES 1.5 billion. Mobile banking fraud emerged as the dominant threat, growing by 344.4% to KSh810.7 billion and becoming the single most significant contributor to fraud losses.
Progress Despite Challenges
Despite the increase in dismissals, Safaricom has achieved notable success in reducing external SIM swap fraud. The company now reports just 40 fraud cases for every 750,000 SIM swaps, a significant improvement from previous rates. With approximately 28,000 SIM swap requests processed daily, this represents a fraud rate of approximately 0.005%.
The company has also introduced USIM protection services that allow customers to prevent their mobile numbers from being ported to other SIM cards. This proactive measure enables customers to become better protected against increasingly sophisticated SIM swap fraud schemes.
Financial and Operational Impact
Safaricom’s commitment to combating fraud comes with substantial financial implications. The company directly employs over 5,000 staff members, making the 113 dismissals represent approximately 2.3% of its workforce. However, management emphasizes that maintaining customer trust and operational integrity outweighs the costs associated with internal investigations and dismissals.
“Throughout FY25, we strengthened our fraud detection systems, reaffirmed our commitment to data protection, and expanded ethical training for staff and partners,” Safaricom stated in its sustainability report. “Our approach centered on safeguarding customer trust, maintaining operational integrity, and upholding high standards of accountability in uncertain conditions”.
Looking Forward
The telecommunications company continues to invest heavily in fraud prevention technology, including artificial intelligence-driven detection systems and machine learning algorithms designed to identify suspicious patterns in real-time. The company conducts in-depth fraud reviews annually to assess the integrity of key processes and has implemented enhanced verification procedures for high-risk transactions.
As Kenya’s digital economy continues expanding, with mobile money transactions reaching unprecedented volumes, the distinction between external cyberattacks and internal breaches becomes increasingly blurred. Safaricom’s aggressive stance on internal fraud, while costly in terms of human resources, reflects the critical importance of maintaining system integrity in a market where billions of shillings flow through mobile platforms daily.
The company’s experience in 2024 serves as both a warning and a template for other financial service providers in Kenya’s rapidly digitizing economy, where insider threats pose significant risks to customer funds and institutional credibility.
