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Police: Tanzanians lost Sh5 billion to cyber fraud in 2023
What you need to know:
- The new report shows that a total of 431 suspects, comprising 358 men and 73 women, were arrested and implicated in connection with the criminal incidents
Dar es Salaam. A total of Sh5.067 billion was stolen last year through mobile money networks, bank transactions, or money withdrawals using Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), a new police report reveals.
The new report shows that a total of 431 suspects, comprising 358 men and 73 women, were arrested and implicated in connection with the criminal incidents.
Most fraud incidents—3,115 in total—were primarily linked to financial transactions conducted through mobile phone accounts.
This was followed by 292 incidents involving bank and ATM-related cases.
The report indicates that the Tanzania Police Force managed to recover only Sh288.7 million, highlighting several possible causes for the increasing trend in crime.
These include economic hardship, lack of integrity, urbanisation, globalisation, youth unemployment, and the desire to illegally accumulate wealth.
Law enforcement agencies have identified several strategies to combat cybercrime.
These include collaborating with various institutions, raising awareness among the public and other stakeholders, and encouraging youth participation in positive cultural and social activities.
Furthermore, the document reveals that a total of 3,731 incidents were reported between January and December 2023, compared to 2,951 incidents recorded in 2022.
According to the new report, an increase of 780 incidents was recorded, which is equivalent to a 26.4 percent rise, and despite the high number of incidents, the law enforcers managed to recover only Sh288.7 million.
Dubbed: The Crime and Traffic Incidents Statistics report for January-December 2023, the report published by the Police Force in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicates that the Ilala Police Region topped other regions in the financial transactions fraud using mobile phones to a tune of Sh1.140 billion.
Arusha Police Region emerged second with Sh619.080 million, followed by Mwanza with Sh381.4 million, Temeke at Sh332.6 billion and Coast at Sh318.6 million.
However, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority's (TCRA) quarterly data ending June 2024 shows a 57 percent increase in fraudulent attempts.
Notably, incidents have risen by 19 percent for Airtel, 217 percent for Halotel, and 70 percent for Tigo. Conversely, incidents have declined by 9 percent for both TTCL and Vodacom.
TCRA Director General Dr Jabiri Bakari said efforts were underway in collaboration with the police and service providers to educate the public on the correct use of SIM cards to reduce cybercrime challenges.
