Zambia faces surge in online, mobile money scams, over K38 million lost

Zambia is grappling with a significant rise in online and mobile money scams, with authorities reporting 1,124 cases between 2023 and 2024, resulting in losses exceeding K38 million.

Home Affairs and Internal Security Minister, Jack Mwiimbu, provided this alarming update in a Ministerial Statement to Parliament on Tuesday.

Mwiimbu detailed that the reported cases comprised 320 incidents of obtaining money by false pretenses, 170 cases of cyber extortion, 184 instances of unauthorized access to data and 450 identity-related crimes.

He stated that these scams had devastating effects on the lives of ordinary Zambians.

According to the Minister, the total losses amounted to K38,948,000, with property valued at K12,407,990 already recovered from the perpetrators.

Investigations into 560 cases have been concluded, and those cases have been brought before the courts.

To date, 117 convictions have been secured, while trials are ongoing for the remaining cases, he said.

Mwiimbu cautioned the public against falling victim to such scams, stressing that legitimate companies do not ask for money upfront before beginning work.

“I strongly urge the public to be cautious of such offers,” he stated, highlighting that e-commerce scams are also a growing concern as individuals seek attractive deals to cope with rising living costs.

The Minister acknowledged the severe impact these fraudulent activities have on citizens and assured them that the government was taking decisive action to combat the crimes.

He revealed that his ministry was working closely with the Ministry of Technology and Science to implement effective strategies against online fraud.

“We are strengthening efforts to track, apprehend, and prosecute scammers while collaborating with financial institutions, mobile network operators and other stakeholders to enforce stronger security measures and raise public awareness,” Mwiimbu added.

He added that the government had engaged all mobile network operators to ensure that their agents did not issue pre-registered SIM cards and to prevent the use of National Registration Cards that did not belong to the SIM card owners.

This initiative aims to address identity-related challenges contributing to the rise in scams.

In the broader context of cyber security, Mwiimbu indicated that legislative and policy changes were underway to tackle and prevent cyber crimes effectively.

He announced plans to repeal the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act of 2021 to introduce new offenses relating to computers and computer systems, thereby enhancing the country’s legal framework against cyber-related offenses.

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