Aline Umutoni, a student at the University of Kigali, received a text message from an unregistered number on August 17, requesting her to send money to a provided contact. Umutoni, however, could not recall owing or promising money to anyone. Curious and slightly concerned, she called the sender to clarify the situation. To her surprise, the person on the other end claimed to be an agent of one the telecom companies in Rwanda, who insisted that a certain amount of money had been mistakenly sent to Umutoni’s account and needed to be returned. ALSO READ: Are mobile phone, online scammers getting more sophisticated? Slightly worried, Umutoni checked her account to find no such deposit. After consulting with a friend, she realized that she had narrowly avoided falling victim to a scammer. Umutoni’s experience is not uncommon. Some people have received calls or text messages from unknown people purporting to be mobile money agents and they from ended up sending money only to find out later they had been scammed. ALSO READ: Over 30% Rwandans targeted by online fraud, money scams To combat such fraudulent acts, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) announced new measures on Tuesday, August 20, seeking to tighten penalties on SIM card holders. Key among these measures is the requirement that SIM card registrations or swaps be conducted only at permanent premises designated by mobile telecom companies. According to RURA, any SIM card involved in fraudulent activities will be immediately blocked, along with all SIM cards registered under the national ID of the suspected fraudster. ALSO READ: Fifteen arrested in mobile money scam crackdown “Any telecom company personnel or agents involved in fraudulent activities will face revocation of their business credentials and deactivation of their SIM cards,” reads part of the statement announcing the new measures. The regulator also emphasized that issuing or lending a SIM card registered under your ID to another person is strictly prohibited, as it could be used for fraudulent purposes. To further tighten security of SIM card holders, the regulation of bulk Short Message Services (SMS) has been reviewed to improve service delivery, with only telecom companies and licensed aggregators authorized to send bulk SMS. RURA urged the public to remain vigilant against unsolicited messages or calls requesting money or impersonating telecom or government personnel. The public was also advised to regularly check the SIM cards registered under their IDs and to self-deregister any unrecognized or undesired SIM cards, or to report to their telecom service providers.
