What Exactly is a SIM Card Swap?

A SIM card

Over the recent years, Kenya has been alive to the scam that is SIM Card Swaps. We recently participated as counsel in a criminal case where the accused persons were charged with being the perpertrators of a SIM Card Swap Scam. Here is what came out in court–

• There are many types of SIM Card Swap Scams.

• In this particular instant, this is how the scam was being carried out

  • A large order for SIM cards would be made by a Chinese national to a Kenyan broker

  • The Kenyan broker would approach several SIM Card retailers and make a bulk order for SIM cards.

  • The retailers would in turn request a restock from the SIM card carrier.

  • The SIM cards would then be processed in the normal way of registering a SIM card, except in this instant, the retailers would use the names and national identity card details of former customers. They already had this data from previous buyers who had to give their names and ID numbers in order to purchase the SIM Cards.

  • In the end, you would find that person AB, who has only ever voluntarily registered one SIM Card had multiple SIM Cards under their name because of this scam.

    
    

What were the SIM Cards for?

In this particular instance, the SIM Cards were being obtained for the purpose of undertaking fraudulent transactions in China through WeChat. Evidence produced by the prosecution showed centres operated by the criminal cyndicate stacked up with hundreds of mobile phones all being operated by different people at a go. The SIM cards purchased would be put in the phones and each would be used to register a seperate WeChat account. It was not clear from the evidence however, how the newly opened WeChat accounts were used to perpertrate crime.