America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has flagged Kenya as a hotbed of monetary proceeds of cybercrime.
According to a report by Interpol dated August 14, Kenya was ranked among the top countries where transnational crimes are executed from.
This follows surveillance of online organized crime in the continent.
In 2017, the report indicated, an estimated Ksh21 billion was lost to these scammers.
Other hotspots in Africa include Nigeria which an estimated Ksh350 billion has been lost in the last couple of years.
Business Email Compromise (BEC) was cited as one of the most common forms of a cyber attack which has cost Kenyan companies billions of shillings.
Hackers threaten these companies of releasing sensitive information and the aftermath is ransom.
In 2019, the FBI together with a few countries affected by this nabbed 281 people across the world.
Kenya in 2018 passed the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act in 2018 which heavily penalizes those found guilty if cybercrime.
In Kenya, BEC which is categorized as phishing is punishable by a fine not exceeding Sh3 million and/or imprisonment not exceeding three years.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigation has called on Kenyans, in the wake of booming online businesses, to be cautious.
Through its official channels on social media, DCI warned of “phishing emails” being circulated widely by fraudsters purporting to sell non-existent products.
“The internet is full of websites that are either fake, fraudulent or a scam. If you’re not careful while using the internet you can end up getting scammed out of your money, or worse, your identity,” one of the alerts by DCI read in part.